The book examines how the interests of the member states, which provide the primary driving force for developments in European integration, are internalised and addressed by the law of the European Union. In this context, member state interests are taken to mean the policy considerations, economic calculations, local socio-cultural factors, and the raw expressions of political will which shape EU policies and determine member state responses to the obligations arising from those policies. The book primarily explores the junctions and disjunctions between member state interests defined in such a manner and EU law, where the latter expresses either an obligation for the member states to comply with common policies or an acceptance of member state particularism under the common EU framework.

The European Union's jurisprudence is responsible for a complex body of human rights law which pursues a busy, multi-tiered agenda and is essential for the lawful and the effective operation and development of the EU polity and its legal order. This innovative book investigates the character of EU human rights law as shaped by the interplay between interpretation and context in the jurisprudence of EU courts.Marton Varju offers a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of EU human rights case law. Providing a comprehensive analytical framework for the jurisprudence he sheds new light on key EU constitutional principles and reveals the complex character of the legal analysis. He distinguishes between different applications of human rights to reveal the 'relational' character of EU human rights law. Examining the interpretative considerations and practices followed by EU courts in their human rights jurisprudence, the author discusses their impact on the protection of human rights in the difficult constitutional and governance terrain of the EU. Identifying the considerations and agendas behind EU human rights law which should be taken into account in EU litigation, this unique and timely book will be of great interest to practitioners in the field and is essential reading for academics and postgraduate students in EU constitutional law. Contents: Preface 1. European Union Human Rights Law: The Dynamics of Interpretation and Context 2. The Rule of Law and Human Rights in the EU 3. Regulation and Human Rights in the EU 4. The Regulation of Human Rights in the EU 5. Justice and Human Rights in the EU 6. European Union Procedures and Human Rights 7. The Multi-layered Character of EU Human Rights Law 8. The Law of the ECHR and Human Rights in the EU 9. European Union Human Rights Law: The Dynamics of Interpretation and Context - Conclusions Index

This book re-examines the law governing the obligations of the Member States in the European Union from the perspective of the interests formulated and pursued by national governments in the EU.

This book re-examines the law governing the obligations of the Member States in the European Union from the perspective of the interests formulated and pursued by national governments in the EU. Member States' interests provide the source as well as the limitations of the obligations undertaken by the Member States in the Union. From the early days of European integration, they have determined how the law frames and defines EU obligations in the Treaties, in legislation and in the jurisprudence of the EU Court of Justice. The book neither challenges directly, nor undermines the current state of the law in the EU. Instead, it introduces a framework for interpreting and analysing legal developments - both legislative and jurisprudential - from an angle which brings the legal dimension of the membership of States in the European Union closer to its political reality. By choosing Member State interest to frame its analysis of the law, the book expresses a clear intention to explore further the interactions and the potential interconnectedness of the intergovernmentalism of EU decision-making and the normative supranationalism of the application and the enforcement of Member State obligations, in particular at the national level. Analysing how diversity among the Member States, which arises from different local interests, institutional frameworks and socio-economic arrangements, is assessed and sustained in EU legislation and in the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, the book examines the impact of EU obligations on Member State territorial authority and territoriality. Providing a new perspective on Member State interests and European Law, the book closes the widening gap between the politics and law of European integration and between its political science and legal analysis. The book is essential reading for students and scholars in the field of state law, EU law and politics.