The pluralist socio-economic character of the European Treaties

It is sometimes argued that the European Union facilitates outcomes conforming to a specific socioeconomic paradigm. The present text addresses the (narrow) legal question whether the European Treaties prescribe the adoption of policies in line with a specific worldview. Based on a textual, historical and functional interpretation of the European Treaties, it is argued that this is not the case. Instead, the Treaties must be understood as pluralist in the light of competing socioeconomic paradigms; this means that, in principle, a broad spectrum of socioeconomic policies could be pursued within its framework.