The Values of the European Union as Legal Rules. Lessons from the Union’s Reaction to Constitutional Backsliding

The thesis builds on the EU practice on the value of the rule of law as a case study for the operationalization of the full set of values under Article 2 TEU. It reconstructs the different techniques for the operationalization of the rule of law, assessing their pros and cons, and then discusses to what extent they can be exported to the other values of Article 2 TEU. The research is grounded on a theoretical framework for the operationalization of EU values composed of two strands: concretization and enforcement. Indeed, the transformation of EU values into rules requires a two-step approach. First, the content of each value must be given concrete expression in a series of principles and standards capable of giving it a precise and autonomous meaning under EU law (concretization). Second, that value must become operational, i.e., enforceable and justiciable through legal parameters (enforcement).