This Essay seeks to address the issue of equality amongst the European Union’s citizens. How has the European Union succeeded since its inception more than half a century ago in giving rights under EU law to citizens who, because of their specific characteristics, attributes, or position in life, are viewed as inferior to others and [...]

Without a doubt, the entry into force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (“Charter”) is a major legal innovation of the Lisbon Treaty and will have a significant impact on the constitutionalization of the European Union legal order in the long run. Some observers comment that the way in which the [...]

The ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon (“Treaty”) in 2009 was heralded as a new era. It was anticipated that the Treaty would usher in a qualitative change to policymaking in Europe. This would be achieved by rebalancing, or even recalibrating, the previous economic priorities found in earlier treaties with a set of social aims [...]

Ten years ago, the social media site Facebook did not exist.[1] YouTube and Twitter did not enter the cultural consciousness until 2005 and 2006, respectively.[2] These social media sites came into the world and subsequently transformed it by allowing people to connect with each other on an unprecedented level, free of charge.[3] Social media sites [...]

With cities, it is as with dreams: everything imaginable can be dreamed, but even the most unexpected dream is a rebus that conceals a desire or, its reverse, a fear. Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, [...]

The European Central Bank (“ECB”) is a central bank whose array of functions and jurisdictional domain are determined by a treaty instrument, the Maastricht Treaty.[1] Following the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon,[2] the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”) governs the ECB.[3] This distinctive feature makes the ECB a unique institution [...]

From the Maastricht Treaty to the Treaty of Lisbon, there has been a steady movement in fields such as social security, professional licensing, and transport, to lower the voting requirement from unanimity to qualified majority voting.[1] Tax legislation, however, must still be adopted unanimously by the Council of the European Union (“Council”) after consulting the [...]

The Treaty of Lisbon, adopted in December 2009, continues the process of integrating human rights into the Acquis Communautaire of the European Union through treaty obligation. The Maastricht Treaty, adopted in 1992, converted the obligation to respect human rights previously articulated by the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”), into a treaty obligation of the Union [...]

In the second half of the twentieth century, Europe formed the European Economic Community (“EEC”) and began a process of economic integration to bring about a common market among its members.[1] Over the years, as the EEC developed, one of its members, Germany, grew concerned over the conflict between its own domestic laws and those [...]

Since 2010, the European Union has watched a global financial crisis develop into a European sovereign debt crisis.1 Governmental support of financial institutions imposed strains on public finances,2 which led the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) to warn of the need for structural reforms.3 Austerity measures have been imposed as a condition of financial support from [...]