Droits fondamentaux et «valeurs» dans le processus d’intégration européenne

The paper highlights the importance of fundamental rights and common normative values within the European integration process. The author argues that they are the ‘ground rules’ of the European legal system. Fundamental rights and the common system of values are interdependent but different, particularly with regard to their respective scope. Furthermore, the author examines normative values through the prism of what he assumes to be their six basic components. The conclusion reached – keeping in due account the recent case-law of the Court of Justice – is that the ‘doctrine of values’ can play a key role in the European construction