HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

However, ultimately, in terms of the ESCS treaty, the discussion of the opinion that the court would ultimately fulfill the administrative role prevailed. 29 4. The Failure of the European Political Community In 1952, then-members of the ECSC further proposed creating an even more integrated community, which would combine the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and European Defence Community (EDC) 30 This new entity was to be named the European Political Community (EPC) and composed of the original six signatories of the ECSC. The negotiations started in January 1953, led by an ad hoc assembly that was supposed to create the Treaty. It managed to create the outline after six months. 31 In the end, however, they failed to strike a treaty that would be acceptable to all the parties. 32 The independent body composed of lawyers set up by the Movement Europeén (CECE) 33 tasked with drafting the Treaty on the EPC, even raised the possibility of acceding to the European convention on human rights and fundamental freedoms. However, due to the failure of the EPC, this was never adopted 34 , and the discussion on the topic of accession to the European Convention continues in Europe to this day. 35 Regarding human rights, it ultimately was concluded to rely on the established European Convention on Human Rights as a source of human rights protection in the European community. 36 In the end, this turned out to be a risky decision since only in 1955 5 out of 6 member states of the EEC ratified the convention, and France only ratified it in 1974. 37 However, the eventual failure of the EDC brought an end to the debate about the EPC, and the European states took a more pragmatic approach 29 Ibid, 344. 30 DEDMAN, Martin. The Origins & Development of the European Union 1945–2008: A History of European Integration . London: Routledge [online] [cit. 2024-04-15]. Available at: https://doi. org/10.4324/9780203873618. 31 GRIFFITHS, Richard (2016 ). Thank you M. Monnet: essays on the history of European integration. In Leiden University Press , p. 118. ISBN: 9789400601079. 32 Ibid, p. 129. 33 DE BÚRCA, Gráinne. The Road Not Taken: The European Union as a Global Human Rights Actor. In The American Journal of International Law [online]. 2011, vol. 105, no. 4, pp. 654–655 [cit. 2024-04-15]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5305/amerjintelaw.105.4.0649. 34 Ibid, pp. 663–64. 35 COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Opinion 2/13 of the Court (Plenary) of 18 December 2014. Opinion delivered pursuant to Article 218(11) TFEU on the compatibility of the European Union’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights. 36 DE BÚRCA, Gráinne. The Road Not Taken: The European Union as a Global Human Rights Actor. In The American Journal of International Law [online]. 2011, vol. 105, no. 4, pp. 654–655 [cit. 2024-04-15]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5305/amerjintelaw.105.4.0649. 37 COUNCIL OF EUROPE. List of signatories of the European Convention on Human Rights [online] [cit. 2024-04-19]. Available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=signatures by-treaty&treatynum=005.

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