21 April 2026 marked a new milestone in the European Union's constitutional development. In the groundbreaking judgment of Commission v Hungary, EU values transitioned from legally binding principles to enforceable legal grounds. Professor Lucia Serena Rossi analysed the implications of this judgment in a recent SIEPS analysis. In this seminar, she will present her findings alongside expert commentators from the Swedish Government and academia.
On 21 April this year, the Court of Justice delivered a landmark judgment in Commission v Hungary on the interpretation and enforcement of the fundamental values set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). These values, common to all Member States, form the foundation of the European Union.
The case concerned Hungarian legislation restricting access to content portraying or promoting gender identities that do not correspond to the sex assigned at birth, sex reassignment, or homosexuality.
For the first time ever, the Court found an independent breach of Article 2 TEU. The judgment is significant as it confirms that the Union's fundamental values can constitute an independent legal basis for infringement proceedings. At the same time, the judgment raises questions regarding the scope and limits of this new avenue for the judicial enforcement of EU values.
At the seminar, Professor Lucia Serena Rossi, a former Judge of the Court of Justice and Professor of EU Law at the University of Bologna, will present her SIEPS publication on this judgment. Having served as a judge in landmark cases that contributed to the development of the case law underpinning the Court's reasoning in Commission v Hungary, Professor Rossi will offer insights into the judgment and its wider constitutional significance.
This will be followed by a presentation by Frida Louise Göransson, LL.D., Deputy Head of the Secretariat for EU Legal Affairs at the Prime Minister's Office, on Sweden's involvement in Commission v Hungary and its earlier work on rule of law backsliding among the Member States.
The seminar will conclude with a discussion featuring Professor Antonina Bakardjieva Engelbrekt of Stockholm University, Professor Xavier Groussot of Lund University, and Professor Lucia Serena Rossi. It will explore the implications of the judgment and the extent to which EU values can operate as autonomous and enforceable standards.
Date and time: 22 September, 10:30-11:45
Coffee will be served from 10:00
Location: Convendum, Kungsgatan 9
The seminar is co-hosted with Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier (SIEPS), länken direkt till anmälningssidan: EU Values: From Principles to Practice