Project description
A closer look at early EU legal integration
The formative era of EU law between 1950 and 1965 is essential for the appreciation of the rulings of the European Court of Justice. However, there are specific blind spots and path dependencies that still affect EU law today, yet it remains not well understood. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the VOICE project will create a comprehensive intellectual history of the early years of EU law by integrating legal and historical methods. It will explore various legal perspectives in academic and professional circles before the ECJ clarified the Treaty of Rome. The project will offer new insights into EU law from 1950 to 1965, challenging existing narratives and promoting informed debate about its future.
Objective
VOICE will provide the first intellectual history of the formative period of European Union law (1950–1965). Combining legal and historical methods, this project examines the various legal imaginaries that existed in academic and professional circles before the European Court of Justice authoritatively defined the nature of the Treaty of Rome. By retrieving the ‘forgotten voices’ that offered alternative visions of the legal nature of European integration, VOICE provides a new understanding of EU law’s intellectual development. It also critically reflects on the use of history in contemporary EU legal discourse and retrieves pathways to reimagine the future of EU law. To achieve this, VOICE pursues three core objectives: (i) mapping the legal imaginaries circulating in European legal discourse between 1950 and 1965; (ii) reconstructing the intellectual and socio-political context in which these imaginaries were formed; and (iii) reconsidering contemporary scholarly and institutional narratives of EU law’s history in light of the plurality of legal imaginaries that once existed. Overall, this project highlights how the choices made by the Court of Justice in the formative period contained specific blind spots and institutional path dependencies that continue to shape EU law to this day. VOICE will reshape the understanding of EU law’s history among legal scholars and practitioners by recovering legal imaginaries of the formative period, challenging historically path-dependent narratives, and strengthening critical legal-historical inquiries into the evolution of EU law. Through its communication strategy, VOICE also aims to raise public awareness about the historical development of EU law, encouraging informed debate and critical reflection on its future among EU citizens. Finally, VOICE also offers relevant training and research opportunities that will enhance my academic profile and support my pursuit of a faculty position at a European research university.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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