Rearranging the Puzzle: How Treaty Change Can Strengthen the Protection of EU Values

Abstract

This paper strives to answer the research question of whether Treaty change is necessary to build stronger mechanisms of EU values protection. It analyses the current toolkit of available values protection mechanisms, demonstrates that those mechanisms have not proven to be very effective, and concludes that the EU is ill equipped to find convincing responses. Following on from this, it reflects on the key proposals made in the academic and institutional debate to improve the current values protection framework. Nevertheless, the paper concludes that these proposals merely represent individual puzzle pieces unlikely to change the course of backsliding if taken in isolation and not providing for a comprehensive and concerted strategy. The paper therefore opts for a broader perspective, relying on the idea of reconceptualising the framework of EU values protection pursuing the path of Treaty change. This path rests on three different dimensions: structural, institutional, and substantive reforms.