Shaping and Re-Shaping the Caring Relationship in European Law: A Catalogue of Rights for Informal Carers
![handle is hein.journals/chilflq28 and id is 267 raw text is:
261
Shaping and re-shaping the caring
relationship in European law: a catalogue
of rights for informal carers?
Eugenia Caracciolo di Torella
Keywords: Care policies - ethic of care - gender equality - informal carers
This article explores the engagement of the European Union with the caring relationship and
focuses on the socio-economic impact on those who provide care. It argues that, albeit that care
was not an initial concern of the EU legislator, over the years, a discourse has gradually been
shaped. The needs of carers have been addressed by a variety of approaches such as
non-discrimination, and employment policy and legislation. So far, however, this intervention
has been ad hoc: accordingly it has not helped to formulate a coherent set of principles, let
alone proposed satisfactory solutions to the demands that carers experience on a daily basis. It
is now time to reshape this discourse: this article maintains that the caring relationship needs to
be reconceptualised in order to fit the evolving reality. Ultimately, it argues for a more
proactive, rights-based approach and explores the possibility of introducing a specific catalogue
of carers' rights in EU law.
'Ethos Anthropos Daimon'
(Heraclitus)
'... the way ahead is to focus on care ... Caring relationships are the ones that need
promoting . . . because they are the relationships that are key to the well-being of society.
Introduction
Traditionally, the caring relationship has been of limited interest for European Union (EU) law.
This, like the law in general, has been structured around an individualistic model based on
notions of rationality and personal autonomy that reflect a vision of a person controlling his
own destiny and taking decisions.2 Furthermore, the EU Treaty was devised as a market-
making rather than a market-correcting instrument .3 Within this context the relevant model
was the 'well-dressed businessman with his right to autonomy'4 and freedom to choose to enter
a contract. By contrast, the 'exhausted mother'5 or the exhausted carer of a disabled spouse,
both of them 'with little autonomy [and/or] freedom'6 remained outside the realm of EU law.
School of Law, University of Leicester. My thanks to all the participants of the 'Sex Gender and Europe - Unintended
Gender Consequences of EU Policies', CRonEM Annual Multidisciplinary Conference in collaboration with ESRC
International Network (3 June - 1 July 2014) where these issues were first discussed. Furthermore, I am indebted to
Annick Masselot, Mark Bell, Grace James, Jill Marshall, Jonathan Herring, Arabella Stewart and the anonymous referees
for their generous and frank comments. The responsibility for any errors or shortcomings is, of course, my own.
1 J Herring, 'Sexless Family Law' [2010] Lex Familice 3.
2 J Raz, The Morality of Freedom (Oxford University Press, 1986).
3 W Streeck, 'Neo-Voluntarism: A New Social Policy Regime' (1995) 1 European Law Journal 31.
4 J Herring, Caring and the Law (Hart Publishing, 2013), at p 1.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/chilflq28&div=27&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Shaping and Re-Shaping the Caring Relationship in European Law: A Catalogue of Rights for Informal Carers
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most