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8 - Epilogue

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2021

Päivi Leino-Sandberg
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki
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Summary

Chapter 8 discusses the broader significance of EU legal advisers’ work in managing the boundary between law and politics. What happens when there is tension between the letter of the law and the unified political will of the leadership? In the event of overreach, should EU legal advisers be expected to frustrate those ambitions? EU legal advisers generally see their role otherwise. The reading of EU law evolves, and the engine of that evolution is political will. EU legal advisers perceive themselves as facilitators of that political will. Their task and expertise lie in providing legal argumentation to create flexibility where needed, not in protecting an abstract and inert interpretation of the law. Scope of interpretation is constrained by the risk of the measure failing in Court – an unlikely prospect, particularly if all institutions supported it. The work of legal advisers is a balancing act between the Union’s ability to respond to unexpected events and safeguarding the stability of its constitutional framework. How they strike this balance affects the legitimacy of the Union as a whole.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Epilogue
  • Päivi Leino-Sandberg, University of Helsinki
  • Book: The Politics of Legal Expertise in EU Policy-Making
  • Online publication: 16 September 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108908757.009
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  • Epilogue
  • Päivi Leino-Sandberg, University of Helsinki
  • Book: The Politics of Legal Expertise in EU Policy-Making
  • Online publication: 16 September 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108908757.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Epilogue
  • Päivi Leino-Sandberg, University of Helsinki
  • Book: The Politics of Legal Expertise in EU Policy-Making
  • Online publication: 16 September 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108908757.009
Available formats
×