HANDBOOK ON CSDP
5.3. RULE OF LAW AND THE CSDP
European Union/EULEX Kosovo, Enisa Kasemi
by Daphne Lodder
The rule of law is a principle of governance whereby all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the state itself, are accountable under laws that are publicly promulgated, enforced and independently adjudicated.
Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU, Lisbon, 2009) states that: ‘The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights […]. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.’ Article 3(1) TEU stipulates that: ‘The Union’s aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples.’, and adds to this in Article 3(5) ‘In its relations with the wider world, the Union shall uphold and promote its values […]. It shall contribute to peace, security […] (and) the protection of human rights […].’
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Article 21 TEU deals with the principles that inform EU foreign policy and extends Member States’ values on which the Union is based to its external action, where it aims equally to uphold and promote these values: ‘The Union’s action on the international scene shall be guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.’ Furthermore: ‘The Union shall define and pursue
