HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

of the United States of Europe, 9 considered by one of the key leaders of the time, Winston Churchill. 10 The idea that European integration could rest on preventing the next war through cooperation is elaborated not only by a handful of European states people such as Churchill 11 or De Gaulle 12 but also by an essential argument in literature about European integration. It is only natural for the population of Europe to seek to prevent another destructive war since the efforts after WWI did not work. One of the ways was the idea of European federalism, as elaborated by Lipgens. 13 The fact that one of the ultimate goals of the European Project was to prevent war makes it a human rights project in itself because the war is ultimately the place where human rights are violated, as we saw in WWII Nazi Germany. 14 This is further elaborated in the Schuman declaration. 15 However, the larger goal of economic cooperation16 which would prevent nation-states from acting in their self-interest, was likely the leading cause, with supportive arguments for war prevention. 2. Schuman Declaration The proposal of 9 May 1950 is regarded as the document that started the European integration process. 17 Although the original plan was based on a task to integrate West Germany into Western Europe 18 , it is clear that Schumann went far beyond that task. With the help of a French diplomat and the General Commissioner 9 DOWARD, Jamie. The “United States of Europe” Speech That Winston Churchill So Nearly Made. In The Guardian [online]. May 10, 2020 [cit. 2024-04-05]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk news/2020/may/10/the-united-states-of-europe-speech-that-winston-churchill-so-nearly-made. 10 CHURCHILL, Winston. Let Europe Arise! Transcription of a speech delivered at the University of Zurich, September 19, 1946. 11 ROITIÑO, David Ramiro, and CHOCHIA, Archil. Winston Churchill and the European Union. In Baltic Journal of Law & Politics [online]. 2015, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 61–63 [cit. 2024-04-15]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1515/bjlp-2015-0011. 12 RAMIRO TROITIÑO, David, MARTÍN DE LA GUARDIA, Ricardo, and PÉREZ SÁNCHEZ, Guillermo A. The European Union and Its Political Leaders: Understanding the Integration Process. In Springer International Publishing AG [online]. 2022, pp. 195–200 [cit. 2024-04-08]. Available at: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-96662-1. 13 DEDMAN, Martin. The Origins & Development of the European Union 1945-2008: A History of European Integration. In Routledge [online] [cit. 2024-04-08]. Available at: https://doi. org/10.4324/9780203873618. 14 STAHEL, David, and KAY, Alex J. Mass Violence in Nazi-Occupied Europe . In Indiana University Press [online]. 2018 [cit. 2024-04-08]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv3znw3v. 15 Schuman Declaration , Preamble. 16 SPOLAORE, Enrico. What is European Integration Really About? A Political Guide for Economists. In The Journal of Economic Perspectives [online]. Vol. 27, No. 3, 2013 pp. 125–144 [cit. 2024-04-08]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.27.3.125. 17 This is why the 9th of May is celebrated in Europe as Europe Day. 18 FONTAINE, Pascal. Europe – a Fresh Start: The Schuman Declaration 1950-90 [online]. In OPOCE, pp. 9–10 [cit. 2024-04-08]. Available at: https://aei.pitt.edu/5877/1/5877.pdf.

9