23 June 2026
EU Law as the Law of European Society
In its decision Commission v Hungary, the CJEU’s plenary qualified EU law as the “common legal order of a society in which pluralism prevails”. Leaving pluralism aside, this blogpost explores possible meanings of the “of” in the first part of that formula. My exploration sketches four ever more foundational understandings: European society as the social field of EU law; EU law as expressing deep structures of that society; European society as generating EU law; and European society as the source of EU law’s authority. Continue reading >>
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22 June 2026
European Society After Commission v Hungary
Since the CJEU published its monumental decision Commission v Hungary on April 21, scholars have already produced an impressive number of analyses. This symposium on ‘European Society after Commission v Hungary’ aims to add to this debate by focusing on the deeper, structural, and so far overlooked implications of this decision for the concept of European society. In this introductory post, we adopt a genealogical approach to the emergence of the research interest in European society and elaborate on its implications and challenges. Continue reading >>
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19 June 2026
The Hungarian Transition’s Meaning for European Constitutionalism
The Hungarian transition is not only a Hungarian event. It is a European constitutional moment. The contributions to this symposium have shown how demanding the repair of constitutional democracy after a hybrid regime will be: a new government must restore constitutional supremacy, reconsider cardinal laws, guarantee judicial and prosecutorial independence, reopen markets, reestablish media pluralism, and counter corruption. But there is more. The Hungarian transition can play a crucial role in the development of European constitutionalism itself. Continue reading >>
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11 June 2026
A Hierarchy of Harms
The specific result in Valeurs de l’Union is correct. An obviously discriminatory law which equates LGBTI+ persons with pedophilia violates EU law. However, the conceptual framework to reach that result is troubling. By limiting Article 2 TEU to “manifest and particularly serious” breaches of the values of human dignity, equality, and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, the Court does not merely constrain the provision’s reach but encodes a majoritarian, visibility-based standard of human rights that departs from the focus on individual dignity. Continue reading >>
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20 May 2026
To Identity and Beyond?
Commission v Hungary proved, unsurprisingly, yet another bold leap forward in the Court’s value jurisprudence. Central to the reasoning of the Court has been the notion that Article 2 forms part of “the very identity of the Union as a common legal order”, which popped up five times in the 44 short paragraphs of the Court’s reasoning on Article 2. While much attention has already been paid to the judgment, the role of the Court’s “identity rationale” in the judgment merits a separate examination. Continue reading >>
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11 May 2026
Wesensgehalt, Würde, Werte
Wesensgehalt, Würde, Werte – so lautet der magische Dreiklang, mit dem der EuGH das ungarische Anti-LGBTQ-Gesetz zu Fall bringt. Dass es sich um Verletzungen absoluter, d.h. keiner Rechtfertigung zugänglicher verfassungsrechtlicher Garantien der Union handelt, verdeutlicht den Ausnahmecharakter des Falles. Der vorliegende Beitrag widmet sich den Fragen der Maßstäbe für Wesensgehalts-, Würde- und Werteverstöße. Der EuGH wartet dabei mit einem neuen Ansatz auf – doch hinsichtlich der Werte des Art. 2 S. 1 EUV beginnt die Suche nach passenden Maßstäben gerade erst. Continue reading >>30 April 2026
The Red Lines of European Society
The Court of Justice ruled on 21 April 2026 that the Hungarian law portraying non-heterosexual and non-cisgender persons as dangerous violates the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU. The decision is historic. We focus on what we see as its two central innovations. First, after years of academic controversy, there is now clarity: Article 2 TEU itself is a justiciable provision that sets enforceable red lines as a separate ground in infringement proceedings. And second, the Court advances a collective singular to which it attributes the EU legal order: European society. Continue reading >>
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29 April 2026
Heavy Artillery, Light Reasoning
In its judgment of 21 April 2026 in Commission v. Hungary (C-769/22), the CJEU took the decisive step: its “value turn”. The Court for the first time applied Article 2 TEU as an autonomous and standalone review standard. The judgment deploys what might be called heavy artillery. Yet, the firepower of the instrument stands in uneasy tension with the lightness of the reasoning marshalled to justify its use. Nonetheless, the critical observations advanced by Riedl ultimately underestimate both the structural logic of the EU legal order and the functional mandate of the Court. Continue reading >>24 April 2026
A Constitutional Court without a Constitutional Compass
The ruling in the case of the Commission v. Hungary was eagerly awaited by many, but it will have come as a surprise to few. Public statements by prominent members of the EU Court of Justice indicated a clear desire to extend the applicability of Article 2 TEU. The Court’s findings regarding the Commission’s pleas concerning infringements of the various acts of secondary law are well-motivated, but its reasoning on Article 2 TEU clearly demonstrates the suffocating grip of EU constitutional orthodoxy. Continue reading >>
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09 July 2025
A Legal Scalpel Instead of an Axe
Hungary appears to be assuming the role of a Trojan horse in the European Union, advancing the interests of foreign powers. Of particular concern is Hungary’s conduct in the field of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, especially in light of its obstruction of EU sanctions against Russia. Thus far, the EU’s conventional instruments have proven insufficient in curbing Hungary’s veto strategy. For this reason, I propose a path that is both legally feasible and politically realistic: a reinterpretation of Article 7 TEU that would allow for a targeted use of the instrument. Continue reading >>
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