On November 23 Maynooth University Department of Law hosted the Book Launch Event to mark the publication of the edited volume “The EU Social Market Economy and the Law: Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Challenges for the EU”, edited by Dr Delia Ferri and Prof. Fulvio Cortese (University of Trento).
The event was convened by Dr Delia Ferri, and was opened by the remarkable keynote speech of Prof. Dr. Bruno De Witte (Maastricht University/EUI). Guest speakers included our own Prof. Michael Doherty and Mr. Charles O’Sullivan, and academics from the most prestigious European universities. Those included: Prof. Vanessa Mak (Tilburg University), Prof. Caterina Sganga (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa), Prof. Stefano Civitarese Matteucci (University of Chieti-Pescara), Dr. Giacomo Delledonne (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa), Prof. Andreas Heinemann (University of Zurich), Dr Juan Jorge Piernas Lopez (University of Murcia), and Dr Sondra Faccio (University of Trento).
The event took the form of a workshop and, while revolving around the themes touched upon in the volume, offered the opportunity to discuss on the future EU political and legal trajectory and on principles which the Union posits. Dr Stephen Coutts (UCC), Prof. Mark Bell (TCD), Prof. Imelda Maher (UCD) and Dr Suryapratim Roy acted as discussants. While reflecting on the values presented by a ‘social market economy’ within the EU context as presented in the volume, they presented critical insights on the extent to which social goals are pursued in various strands of EU legislation, and on how economic and social objectives are balanced.