ABSTRACT
In February 2010 Viviane Reding, the new Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, stated that the European Union (EU) Charter ‘will be the compass for all European Union policies’, providing the background against which all EU policies will be impact-assessed, with a no-tolerance zone for any member state that does not adhere to the Charter.2 She proclaimed that ‘our EU Charter represents the most modern codification of fundamental rights in the world. We, Europeans can be proud of it.’3 I hope so. In June 2010 she reiterated these sentiments and stated that
the Commission will present later this year a communication on the EU fundamental rights policy which will set out its strategy for an effective enforcement of the Charter. My key objective is to render as effective as possible the rights enshrined in the Charter for the benefit of all people living in the EU.4
