Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR) enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European Union (EU) citizens and residents into EU law. It was drafted by the European Convention and solemnly proclaimed on 7 December 2000 by the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission. However, its then legal status was uncertain and it did not have full legal effect until the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009. The Charter forms part of the area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy domain of the EU. It applies to all the bodies of the European Union and the Euratom which must act and legislate in accordance with its provisions, as the EU's courts will invalidate any EU legislation or ruling assessed as non-compliant with the Charter. The EU member states are also bound by the Charter when engaged in implementation of the European Union law. However, Poland has been granted a partial opt-out from enforcement of the CFR in spite of participating in the AFSJ; in contrast, Denmark and Ireland have fully adopted the Charter, in spite of having been granted opt-outs from the AFSJ (a general and a partial one, respectively). The Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (Treaty of Rome) did not include any reference to fundamental or human rights. The EEC Treaty was written a few years after the failure of the European Defence Community Treaty and the European Political Community Treaty. The latter treaty had included rights provisions and Craig and de Búrca argue that, in light of that failure, the drafters of the EEC Treaty wished to eschew any implicitly political elements. However, the idea that the purely economic end of the new EEC Treaty would be unlikely to have any implications for fundamental rights was soon to be tested. Soon after the entry into force of the EEC Treaty, the Community established itself as a major political entity with policy ramifications beyond its economic aims.