HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

talk about the history of European integration, we mainly think about the economic benefits of such integration; the exchange of critical manufacturing materials was, in fact, in the name of the first European Project. 3 The EU founding agreements at the time of their first signing in 1950 themselves did not have a comprehensive catalogue of human rights. 4 The fact that the EU adopted a comprehensive Charter of Fundamental Human Rights in 2000 is telling. 5 Moreover, only the Treaty of Lisbon recognises the need for the EU to become a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which clearly shows a progressive trend in human rights becoming more vital to the European Union. 6 The research question of this article is 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 article first examines the initial ideas and theories that led to the founding of the European Project from different perspectives. Then, it moves on to the Schuman Declaration, regarded as the most influential document on the European idea. It also discusses the strategic decisions involving the European community of Coal and Steel, the failed attempt at setting up the European political community, and the Treaty on the EEC. This article hopes to contribute to the debate on the history of human rights protection in the European Union by critically examining the content of these documents and discussions around their negotiation. This article should bring additional perspective to the table. The perspective broadly expands upon the ideas of Gráinne de Búrca, written in her article The Road Not Taken: The EU as a Global Human Rights Actor. 1. Outlining the Idea of a Joint European Project There are various perspectives to be examined when looking at the origins of the ideas for European integration. In World Order, Henry Kissinger describes Europe as rising from the ashes of the tragedy of the Second World War. 7 Indeed, the central drive of European integration was the experience of the Second World War. However, there are other perspectives to be considered, for example, the influence of the United States on the outcome of negotiations for the new Europe. 8 There is also the idea 4 EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY. Treaty of Paris. [online]. 1951. [cit. 2024-04-05]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu. 5 EUROPEAN UNION. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In Official Journal of the European Union [online]. 2012, C 326 [cit. 2024-04-05]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12012P/TXT. 6 EUROPEAN UNION. Treaty on European Union . In Official Journal of the European Union , C 202, 7 June 2016, Art. 6(2). 7 KISSINGER, Henry A. World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History. London: Penguin Books, 2015. ISBN 978-0-14-197900-7. 8 BEREND, Ivan T. The History of European Integration. London: Routledge, 2016, pp. 7–56. 3 European coal and steel community.

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