Conceptual underpinnings of the EU’s commitment to human rights

Abstract

Based primarily on legal and policy documents, this chapter outlines the European Union’s (EU’s) conceptions of human rights. It also identifies major conceptual challenges the EU faces in developing human rights action. Key among these conceptual challenges are the tensions between the EU’s economic objectives and upholding human rights, and the difficulty to create a universal and inclusive human rights legal subject. The chapter concludes by identifying opportunities to coin more inclusive and coherent conceptualisations by drawing on the concepts of vulnerability and intersectionality.