Inaugural Lecture with Professor Oana Stefan

Inaugural Lectures are a celebration of our Professors, as they present an overview of their contribution to their field, as well as highlight its latest developments. The lecture is open to both members of the university community and the wider public, and is followed by a reception in the Great Hall.

‘What about love? An Eros-Philia-Agape framework to explore EU integration through law’

Can EU law be loved or aspire to love? As per well-known imaginaries of bleak houses and strict procedures, probably the title of this talk should rather be ‘what’s love got to do with it?’. And yet, the meme ‘we ❤ EU’, born on London streets on the eve of the Brexit referendum, has gone viral globally. In an era when EU rules and procedures are contested, and institutions incline towards de-regulation (Omnibus Package, 2025), this lecture draws on a sentimental rhetoric to explore European integration through law. Such rhetoric has been used in EU political science recently (Koschut 2024), with authors specifically delving into love (Glencross 2025). EU lawyers have been somewhat less preoccupied with sentiment, although there are notable exceptions such as Imelda Maher exploring hope and EU law. As for general legal scholarship, love and the law do not appear to be a match made in heaven (Grossi 2018), although others think that love is the secret ingredient of better law-making (Baker 2023, Atwell 2008, Goodrich 1997).

This inaugural lecture looks at how the development of EU law could fit with the different classical senses of ‘love’: eros, philia, and agape. In theory, one would imagine that the aspiration should be to achieve a measured philia (understood as fondness, appreciation, or loyalty to the community, as spelled out by founding documents since the Schuman declaration, and outlined by the values of Article 2). Yet, certain eros (understood here in the Platonic sense as the pursuit of transcendental beauty) transpires – sometimes passionately – from cult statements around principles such as supremacy of EU law, or mutual recognition. And it is fair to admit that these statements have also generated considerable contestation (dare we say hate), even from apex courts (Polish Constitutional Court declaring art 2 TEU unconstitutional). As a reaction, in some of its most recent judgments on solidarity, mutual trust, and sincere cooperation, the CJEU appears to go beyond and construct some form of agape (or paternal, God-like love). The question is whether a certain mismatch between all these aspirations might lead eventually to love-less EU law and institutions.

Professor Oana Stefan is the Chair of European Law at King’s College London, and director of the Centre of European Law. She is a scholar of law and governance in the EU, having published extensively on soft law in competition and state aid, energy law, financial regulation, health, and the rule of law, including two monographs (Soft Law in Court, Kluwer 2013; EU Soft Law in the Member States, Hart 2021). Oana graduated with a PhD from University College Dublin, where she also worked as a tutor, an MA from College of Europe-Natolin, and a Romanian and French law dual degree from University of Bucharest and the Sorbonne. She held academic positions with HEC Paris, the College of Europe, and several visiting positions, including the Vincent Wright Chair at Sciences Po in Paris. Oana sits on the Boards of the United Kingdom Association of European Law and the Dublin European Institute. Prior to joining academia, she held positions with the Romanian Ministry of Justice and the Romanian Higher Education Agency.

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The Great Hall, Ground Floor, King's Building, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

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