Introduction: The Puzzles of European Union Law

This introductory chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to bring together a diverse group of legal and political philosophers, constitutional theorists, and legal scholars, and invite them to reflect on certain challenges facing the contemporary European Union. This is followed by a discussion of the philosophical and constitutional foundations of the contemporary EU. It takes each of the three main areas which the book addresses in turn -the legal system, political foundations, and constitutional virtues-and offers some thoughts on the philosophical and constitutional issues, and on the scholarship attempting to address those issues, which are regarded as particularly important in understanding and evaluating the contemporary EU. An overview of the subsequent chapters is then presented.