Fundamental rights at the heart of the Lisbon Treaty? Changes and challenges 10 years on

The Lisbon Treaty has brought some important changes in fundamental rights protection, and in particular the extension of the jurisdiction of the Court to encompass also co-operation in criminal matters, the costitutionalization of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and the possibility for the EU to accede to the European Convention of Human Rights. However, several problematic areas remain. In certain areas of EU law, such as immigration and European Arrest Warrant, the European Court of Justice application of fundamental rights has been timid, privileging the effectiveness of EU law over meaningful rights protection. The Court has also blocked the EU accession to the ECHR. Those shortcomings could be easily addressed through changes in legislation or in interpretation. On the other hand, and much more importantly, recent developments in Hungary and Poland have shown how difficult it is for the EU to react to threats to fundamental rights protection, rule of law and democracy in its Member States. The Lisbon Treaty in this respect a missed opportunity since, for lack of imagination if nothing else, it failed to ensure that the EU could address and react to the breaches of its foundational values perpetrated by Member States.