Analysis of the Main Achievements of the Negotiation Process for the Accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 (2019-2023)

Introduction. The article examines the main stages and achievements in the work of the ad hoc group (46+1) based on the results of the past 14 rounds of the negotiation process on the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950. The author examines the fundamental problems prevented the European Union from accessing to the European Convention on Human Rights in 2013, as well as the novellas included in the revised draft Agreement on the Accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights, such as the application of Articles 33 and 53 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950, as well as Protocol No. 16 thereto in relation to the law of the European Union.

 Materials and methods. The methodological ground of the study based on the following general scientific and special methods of the recognition of legal phenomena and processes in the field of European law: the method of system-structural analysis, the method of synthesis of social phenomena, the comparative legal method, the formal logical method. For certain questions, statistical data was involved in the study. To identify further vectors for the development of interaction between judicial bodies used the content analysis.

Results of the study. Based on the results of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that the main problems preventing the European Union from the accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, are the specifics of the application of Articles 33 and 53 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Protocol No. 16 thereto in relation to European Union law, as well as the reluctance of the European Union to limit the sovereignty and autonomy of European Union law in order to strengthen the European system for the protection of human rights.

Discussion and conclusion. The adjustments made by the ad hoc group (46+1) in relation to the Accession Agreement are very significant and, on the one hand, even unnecessary. They fully cover the observations indicated in the Opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union No. 2/13 and at the same time satisfy the representatives of the European Union, which gives reason to believe that the accession attempt will have a positive outcome. Of course, if the European Union joins the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950, human rights, freedoms, and their guarantees will reach a new level, since their protection will be comprehensive.

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