Koen Lenaerts delivers annual Europa Lecture at Leiden University
What can the EU do when a Member State tramples on European values? Can, and should, courts directly enforce principles such as equality, human dignity, and the rule of law? Yes, ruled the CJEU recently in its landmark judgment in Commission v. Hungary.
-
Europa lezing 2026 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
On Friday 19 June 2026, Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), treated the audience of the Europa Lecture to an in‑depth and passionate analysis of this case law and its implications for Europe and its citizens. The lecture was held in the Telders Auditorium of Leiden University’s Academy Building and was entitled Landmark decisions of the Court of Justice: New perspectives following the ‘Values of the Union’ judgment.
In his lecture, Judge Lenaerts argued passionately that respect for values – such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, human rights and the rule of law – lends the EU Member States a certain degree of credibility. This underpins the process of European integration and defines the European Union as a common legal order. These shared values serve as a moral compass for the EU’s entire legal system and therefore deserve protection. That is precisely what the Court did in its ruling in Commission v. Hungary (C‑769/22), holding that the controversial Hungarian ‘anti‑LGBTI law’ violates fundamental rights, the internal market, and the core values of the European Union.
For many decades, Koen Lenaerts has been a prominent international jurist and legal scholar in the area of European law. He graduated with a degree in Law from KU Leuven and went on to earn a Master of Laws and a Master’s in Public Administration at Harvard Law Schol. In 1982, he obtained a PhD in law at Leuven University in Belgium. He has been Professor of European Union Law Leuven University since 1983. In 1989, he was appointed Judge of the European Court of First Instance in Luxemburg. He became a Judge at the CJEU in 2003 and in 2012 was appointed as Vice-President. In October 2025 he became President of the Court, a position he still holds today.
President of the Executive Board of Leiden University, Professor Luc Sels, welcomed Judge Lenaerts to Leiden, reflecting in his opening words on Leiden’s tradition of international thinking. He stressed that at a time when the rule of law, democratic values and international cooperation are under pressure, dialogue between academia and the judiciary is more important than ever. Professor Stefaan Van den Bogaert, Director of the Europa Institute, also mentioned that in difficult times, citizens often look to the courts, as independent arbiter, for support, interpretation and direction. He also shared with the packed auditorium his memory of how Professor Lenaerts first sparked his interest in European law during Monday morning EU law lectures in Leuven, from 8 to 11 a.m.
Following the lecture, Professor Armin Cuyvers, Head of the Department of European Law at Leiden Law School, gave a short reaction. He built in particular on Judge Lenaerts’ thought‑provoking remarks about sovereignty and European integration, and about the legal enforcement of fundamental values in an increasingly difficult geopolitical reality in which law and values seem to carry ever less weight. Judge Lenaerts then took ample time to respond to the many questions from the audience.
The full text of the Europa Lecture is available here.
First held in 2013, the Europa Lecture is an annual lecture organised by the Europa Institute of Leiden Law School. It provides leading thinkers, scholars and politicians with a platform to share their views on questions of European integration with the academic community and wider public.