“In other parts of the world, it is thought that (...) breaking away from common rules offers a comparative advantage. But in Europe, we know that the opposite is true”, stated the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Monday 27 January, when the College of European Commissioners was sworn in before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
According to the German Christian Democrat, the European economy is competitive when it “remains faithful to the European social pact”, “reconciles entrepreneurial freedom and worker protection”, and “when our citizens and businesses are protected by an independent judiciary”. And she added: “The rule of law, environmental and climate protection, and equal and dignified working conditions are not just values - they are our competitive advantage”.
While the Commission will present its ‘Competitiveness Compass’ (see EUROPE 13565/1) on Wednesday, Ms von der Leyen advocated “massively” simplifying EU law, “but never to the detriment of workers or the environment”.
The President of the EU institution promised that the Commission would continue to protect the European treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights over the next five years, which will be “just as difficult” as the last five, referring to the Covid-19 pandemic and Russian military aggression in Ukraine.
See Mrs von der Leyen's speech: https://aeur.eu/f/f95
The President of the EU Court of Justice, Koen Lenaerts, noted the complementary nature of the actions of the European Commission and the CJEU in protecting the European legal order.
On the one hand, he said, the Commission “promotes the general interest of the Union in all circumstances” and “ensures the application of the Union’s primary and secondary legislation, where necessary through ultimate recourse to the European courts”. On the other hand, he added, the Court of Justice and the General Court make up “the judicial institution which is the guarantor of objective, independent and impartial justice in the areas covered by Union law”. Ultimately, the two institutions contribute to the harmonious implementation of EU policies and the consolidation of the achievements of European integration.
Faced with “attacks from within or outside Europe on the values of the rule of law”, which threaten our democratic institutions and are often exacerbated by “disinformation and destabilisation campaigns via certain social networks”, “it is the collective duty of the European institutions to continue to work every day to preserve the foundation of values on which our common legal order is based”, concluded Mr Lenaerts.
See Mr Lenaerts’ speech: https://aeur.eu/f/f96 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)