Dreptul soft în guvernanța Uniunii Europene: între eficiența administrativă și securitatea juridică
Keywords:
soft law, European Union, Governance, legal certainty, European semesterAbstract
Using the European Commission’s Code of Good Governance (CCG) as a case study, the article shows that the chief advantage of soft law lies in its flexibility and its ability to react quickly to political, social and economic change. Although not directly binding, such instruments serve as a useful reference when it comes to influencing Member States’ actions, formulating public policies and paving the way for further legislation. The report assesses what soft law is, why it is so widely used and the policy areas in which it has emerged – from economic coordination and social policy to digital transformation, environmental measures and public health. This conversation also highlights the tensions of a growing reliance on soft law. On the one hand, they enable coordination and innovation; on the other, they risk avoiding parliamentary scrutiny and diluting accountability. The article examines the link between soft law and hard law, as well as its significance for the rule of law and standards of good governance. The result is that soft law serves as an important complement to hard law, providing a flexible area in which cooperation and experimentation are possible. However, for this value to be realized, it must be supported by transparency, public involvement, and comprehensive performance measurement. Then, ‘soft law’ can make a decisive contribution to the legitimacy and effectiveness of governance in Europe.
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