Rethinking sovereignty: the role of European society in the federal architecture of the European Union

This paper examines the concept of European society as a key element of the European Union’s federal framework and its role in rethinking sovereignty. Building on Article 2 TEU and federal theory, it explores the relationship between society, people, and sovereignty within the EU’s system of shared and distributed authority. The analysis is developed in two parts: the first outlines the theoretical interaction between these concepts, while the second examines how European society operates within the federal process through mechanisms such as conditionality and judicial dialogue. The paper argues that EU federalism is not merely a structural arrangement but a value-driven and dynamic system, in which European society functions both as the foundation and the objective of the Union’s governance model.