The human face of the European Union: Are EU law and policy humane enough? An introduction

The European Union (EU) has experienced throughout its history varying levels of popular support and has revealed different levels of capacity to deal with crises. A range of factors may account for these variations and differences, but one thing is certain: the current circumstances, namely financial pressures, budgetary cuts, social instability and the present geographical and policy scope of the EU, require serious introspection and ‘soul searching’. What can be done to ensure that the EU does not perish but, hopefully, becomes more a part of the solution than of the problem? A significant part of this issue relates to the fact that the EU is continually being criticised for being an organisation that has not been able to distance itself sufficiently from its roots in economic integration. Sectors of both academic and popular discourses also promote the idea that the EU consistently favours market