Bruno de Witte

In the past, the very fact of joining the European Union was seen as offering not only economic prosperity to the participating states but also as guaranteeing the preservation of democratic government (as many member states emerged from an authoritarian past). In recent years, though, the European Union has taken a more active role by developing a policy to help preserve democracy within its member states. The lecture with Bruno de Witte will discuss the tools used by the EU for this purpose, and the constraints that limit the effectiveness of this common ‘democracy policy’.

Bruno de Witte is emeritus professor of European Union law at Maastricht University, and formerly a professor of law at the European University Institute in Florence. His recent work deals with the relation between EU law and national law, the protection of fundamental rights and of cultural diversity in the EU, and the legal issues raised by the EU’s crisis policies (during the euro crisis and the Covid crisis).

Language: English

In cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law