This book takes a wide-ranging approach to tackle the complex question of the current state of constitutional democracy in the EU. It brings together a broad set of academics and practitioners with legal and political perspectives to focus on both topical and perennial issues concerning constitutional democracy (including safeguarding the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights) in theory and practice, primarily at EU level but also with due regard to national and global developments. This approach underlines that rather than a single problématique to be analysed and resolved, we are presently facing a kaleidoscopic spectrum of related challenges that influence each other in elusive, multifaceted ways. Critical Reflections on Constitutional Democracy in the European Union offers a rich analysis of the issues as well as concrete policy recommendations, which will appeal to scholars and practitioners, students and interested citizens alike. It provides a meaningful contribution to the array of existing scholarship and debate by proposing original elements of analysis, challenging often-made assumptions, destabilising settled understandings and proposing fundamental reforms. Overall, the collection injects a set of fresh critical perspectives on this fundamental issue that is as contemporary as it is eternal.

This collection discusses the challenges of reforming EU democracy through increased citizen participation beyond elections. It asks fundamental questions such as whether the institutionalisation of citizens in EU public law is a prerequisite for addressing these challenges and the extent to which such institutionalisation is taking place in the EU. To these ends, the contributors analyse the latest institutional initiatives, proposals and practices such as: *citizen assemblies; *citizen consultations and dialogues on European integration and draft legislation; *the Conference on the Future of Europe; *the reform of the European Citizens' Initiative; *the evolving role of the European Ombudsman; *citizen petitions to the European Parliament; *the roles of the civil society and the European Economic and Social Committee. Offering reflections on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, this book is a much needed reminder of the importance of the role of citizens in EU governance.

How 'free' is the free movement of persons? Why does the law that enables it need to be 'revisited'? This collection of essays, curated by Claire Kilpatrick and Joanne Scott for the European University Institute's 2020 Academy of European Law, addresses these questions. Across different examples - migration, posted workers, social security, Brexit, and Union citizenship - each chapter revisits the categories that have become entrenched in EU law on the free movement of persons and the boundaries that have been constructed as a result. Do they still represent meaningful differences? Are they valuable compass points or inhibitors of progress? Do they ensure comprehensive or fragmented protection of the person? In reconsidering the fundamentals of EU free movement law, the book draws attention to tensions that have not yet been properly resolved: between appropriate difference and problematic discrimination, or between the mythology and the experienced reality of free movement for the people who actually move. Its chapters consider how the free movement of persons connects to and is shaped by the EU legal spaces beyond free movement as well as by the space beyond law. The contributors do not shy away from provoking a rethink of core principles. They interrogate these fundamentals and the changing objectives of the free movement of persons to take up the challenge of doing it better: of making it both more protective of people and more resilient in ethical, systemic, and sociological terms.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com. This thought-provoking book examines the socio-legal mechanisms that drive EU constitutional tensions, as well as the role of principles and values in re-directing EU law and policy towards a democratic Social Europe. It addresses the current limits of Social Europe in relation to different areas of EU law, offering a critical assessment of the present status of EU integration.

The inside story of the daily work of lawyers in the EU institutions and their impact on EU policy making.

This study, with its approach rooted in EU law and its clear focus on conceptual underpinnings, grapples with one of the most challenging questions facing constitutional lawyers today; namely the rule of law. Drawing on the expertise of leading scholars and judges at the forefront of the question, it takes a dual approach. It opens by setting out the foundations of the rule of law, including legal certainty, democratic principles and judicial independence. It goes on to explore the protections that can be relied upon, from policy developments, to human rights sanctions, and infringement actions. This is a rapidly developing question in EU constitutional law, so this masterful collection will be welcomed by both scholars and policy-makers in the field.

In the early 1990s the then European Community imposed for the first time a set of economic restrictions against a specific entity: the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola. Since then, the individualisation of sanctions has become entrenched, these so-called 'smart' sanctions have proliferated, their targets and scope of application have significantly expanded, and they operate in an increasingly juridified environment. This book aims to shed light on the constitutive dynamics and causes of these developments, with a focus on the juridification of individual sanctions at the European level. To this end it first revisits the phenomenon of individualisation – moving beyond the conventional narrative that individual sanctions emerged because of humanitarian and effectiveness concerns – and situates the 'smarting' of sanctions within the context of broader structural transformations characterised by the consolidation of the global neoliberal order. Second, the book explores why the role of law has been so pronounced in the European context by unearthing the connections between EU law and capitalist order building.

This book critically analyses the case law on EU citizenship in relation to its personal free movement rights, its status on the primary law level, and EU fundamental rights protection. The book exposes the legal space where EU citizenship variably loses or gains legal relevance, and questions how this space can be overcome. Through a thorough analysis of the core personal free movement rights of residence, family reunification, equal treatment and equal political participation, the book demonstrates how the development of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union has generated a two-tiered legal concept of EU citizenship. Depending on the nature of the legal claim at hand, EU citizenship may appear as a poor legal personhood for exercising free movement rights; sometimes pushing the individual who is in a factual cross-border situation out of the scope of Union law. Contrastingly, in other strands of the jurisprudence, we see EU citizenship and its primary law levelled-rights stretch the jurisdictional scope of Union law, triggering the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights for review of the individual case. The book enhances the understanding of the legal concept of EU citizenship in Union law and contributes to the debate on the future development of EU citizenship, its relationship to the Charter, and the strength of its legal position for the person who exercises freedom of movement.

This edited volume brings together leading authors and actors in EU internal market law and policy, revisiting the classic themes in a contemporary context and considering (re-)directions for the future. The EU would not be where and what it is today without its internal market. It is the cradle of the EU's most important legal doctrines and the source of the most significant amount of European integration. And, as Brexit has underlined, it remains the primary political reason for EU membership. Considering the well-established and fundamental nature of internal market law, it is striking to find many crucial doctrinal questions still unanswered today, as explored by this book. Furthermore, these questions now find a new legal, social and political context: one that is acutely aware of the contested nature of the EU and its policies and the need to embed the internal market project in a broader setting of constitutional norms and values. This need is made all the more pressing by the rapidly changing and often disruptive technological context. The various contributions to this book contribute to finding a new direction for continued European integration in changing times, by rethinking, and where necessary reinventing, the role and purpose of this area that remains the EU's beating heart.

Democracy is on the run, and elected governments are suffering from a legitimacy crisis. Legislatures are increasingly seen as unrepresentative. To give legitimacy to democratic government, experts argue that we need more democracy and more opportunities for direct citizen participation. Representative democracy needs to be complemented by forms of direct engagement, such as referendums, popular votes, the recall, citizens’ juries, eDemocracy, etc. This is what we term Complementary Democracy. In this book experts from the worlds of practice and theory come together to explain – and occasionally critique – these complements to representative democracy. The volume provides an invaluable starting point for anyone who wants to know more about the new directions of democratic governance, and hopes to inspire those who seek to build stronger democracies.