Why and How Should the European Union Defend its Values?

Area of Science:

• Political Science
• Legal Philosophy
• European Studies

Background:

• The European Union (EU) faces challenges in upholding its core values within member states.
• Existing frameworks for defending EU values lack a comprehensive moral and normative basis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a normative framework for evaluating the moral permissibility of defending EU values.
• To define the conditions under which the EU can legitimately intervene to protect liberal democratic principles.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of EU values as liberal democratic values.
• Development of a theory for defending liberal democracy consistent with its own principles.
• Examination of the EU's role and permissible actions in value defense.

Main Results:

• A coherent interpretation of EU values as liberal democratic values is proposed.
• Criteria for identifying violations of these values are outlined.
• A concentric defense strategy combining political, cultural, socio-economic, and legal responses is deemed permissible.

Conclusions:

• The EU can permissibly defend liberal democratic values through a multi-faceted approach.
• Such defenses must respect the separation of powers doctrine.
• Defenses should avoid problematic notions of collective responsibility.