HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

nationality. For example, in the preliminary ruling in the case of Württembergische Milchverwertung-Südmilch AG v Salvatore Ugliola, the court of justice protected not just fair treatment of the members of the European community by helping the non german nationals who have to fulfill military service obligations to their country and have this period counted towards their employment within the meaning of german labour law. 50 Here the court makes a clear expectation that an individual should not be disadvantaged based on their nationality within the European communities. 51 Another significant contribution to the Treaty’s commitment concerns the democratic order of the community itself. 52 The need for a democratic order in the community, with the possibility of future European elections, contributes to the right to political participation. Although it does not guarantee the quality of democracy in the member states, the EEC and, eventually, the EU will move in that direction. However, it needs to be said that the few substantial provisions are in no way a replacement for a more comprehensive catalogue of human rights, and even when the Court of Justice had the power to extend these provisions through interpretation, it is only in the later cases that the court does so. 53 Even though the EEC was undoubtedly created to protect individuals’ rights, this protection was limited to the scope provided by the treaties, which unfortunately did not provide adequate guarantees. Conclusion In this article, we sought to answer the question of what role the concept of fundamental rights played in drafting and negotiating the founding multilateral treaties that eventually led to the formation of the European economic community. The findings suggest that it played a role in forming the European Project. Even though they were not the primary driver of European integration, some human rights goals, like preventing war and uniting the continent, were at the beginning of the discussions, and the Shuman Declaration contains some crucial human rights goals. In the proposal for the EPC, there was even a discussion on a human rights catalogue; however, the discussions around EEC and later the debates about human rights aspects of the European Union were non-existent. However, some of the ideas from the Schuman declaration, most notably the early anti-discrimination legislation, make it to the definitive version of the EEC treaty and is even at the very beginning 50 European Court of Justice. Judgment of the Court of 15 October 1969, Württembergische Milchverwertung Südmilch AG v Salvatore Ugliola , C-15/69, EU:C:1969:54. 51 Ibid, pp. 5–6. 52 Provisions of Part 5 of the EEC Treaty. 53 MARCOUX Jr., Laurent. The Concept of Fundamental Rights in European Economic Community Law. In Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law [online]. 1983, vol. 13, no. 3, p. 685 [cit. 2024 04-29]. Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/gjicl/vol13/iss3/3.

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