An unintended legal backlash of enlargement? – The inclusion of minority rights in the EU Constitutional Treaty
An unintended legal backlash of enlargement? – The inclusion of minority rights in the EU Constitutional Treaty

Summary/Abstract: The inclusion of a reference to the rights of minorities in the Treaty caused slight debates in the plenum of the European Convention. While the question of minority protection has become a strong discursive element in the European Union’s external relations, especially in its enlargement policy, the lack of any internal reference or normative background has become an obtrusive gap between the EU’s external policies and internal commitments. Despite the fact that the interpretation of minority rights under EU law remains largely open to speculation, the evolution of Art. I-2 may prove instructive for external influence of legal development in the Either implications of the enlargement process in this field gained resonance under EU law, resulting in a new formulation of the Union’s values. The effects of the ‘internalisation of an external norm’, however, remain to be seen.

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