CFA: 14TH Braga Meetings on Ethics and Political Philosophy - European Union

[João C. Ribeiro]

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

 

14th Braga Meetings on Ethics and Political Philosophy

 

June 26, 27, & 28, 2024 | Braga, Portugal

Website: https://14bragameetings.weebly.com/

 

  

Panel 6 – European Union

 

 

CONVENORS: PEDRO SILVA and JOÃO CRUZ RIBEIRO

All enquiries about the panel should be sent to cruzribe...@gmail.com or pedros...@gmail.com

This panel will convene an all-encompassing set of discussions on the political morality of the European Union and is interested on the question of the principles of justice that should govern the supranational entity. Political theory increasingly debates this. Should the European Union commit to promoting maximally just institutions within domestic Member States (MS) or should it merely favour the creation or maintenance of domestic institutions that satisfy a given threshold of justice? What implications does the answer to this question have for the kind of welfare state regimes and types of political economy that European Member States should maintain? European countries differ substantially with respect to social insurance systems and labour market legislation, for example. We may, therefore, think that we have reasons of feasibility and legitimacy to avoid asking European institutional designers to comprehensively reform domestic economic and social life. European economic policy, backed by the European Court of Justice, has progressively pressured Member States in the direction of privatisation and liberalisation perhaps under the guise of its interpretation of the four freedoms. This may suggest, however, that the EU has the requisite policy levers to intervene in MS’ domestic economic spheres even if we may wish that it pursues a more liberal egalitarian path.

These issues prompt the question of how European integration may be carried out legitimately. The Euro debt crisis brought the inter-governmental character of the supra-national entity to the fore as the EU made decisions on a largely ad hoc basis. It is not clear what permanent consequences this may have had on the other legislative and decision-making bodies of the Union and whether the economic governance of the EU is overall more legitimate than it was ten years ago. This Panel welcomes discussions on the legitimacy of the EU’s current shape and debate on the reforms it should undertake if it is to promote social justice in a more thorough manner.

This Panel also welcomes contributions that seek to answer the following kinds of questions:

- Under what circumstances can the European Union legitimately supervise the respect for the rule of law in the Member States?

- Is democratic backsliding within some EU Member States a real phenomenon? If so, what can the EU do to tackle it?

- Is the EU merely a stepping stone to the fulfilment of principles of justice with a global scope?

 

 

Submission Guidelines:

 

If you are interested in presenting your work in this panel, please submit an abstract of  400-500 words along with 5 keywords and a short bio of maximum of 300 words.

 

The proposal must be submitted online through the event website using this abstract submission form. Once in the website, make sure that you select the correct panel throughout the filling of the form.

 

The deadline for submissions is March 31, and you will be notified of the decision by April 30.