Why is the protection of fundamental rights needed in the EU and how has the initial problem been resolved (until now)?

Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Law - European and International Law, Intellectual Properties, grade: B 80%, European Online Academy, language: English, abstract: Why is the protection of fundamental rights needed in the EU? In order to demonstrate the importance of fundamental rights in the European Union (EU), it needs to be clarified what fundamental rights are and how they differ from the fundamental freedoms of the EU. When going through the literature of the European Union one might see the term 'fundamental freedom'. Fundamental freedoms are embedded in the European Economic Community (EEC) since 1957 and describe the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital, the driving forces for the internal market. Even though fundamental freedoms and fundamental rights are linked and sometimes similar, Fundamental freedoms are not to be mixed up with fundamental rights which are much more focused on the citizens' rights than on the economic factor. Fundamental rights are difficult to define as there is no common sense of what exactly is 'fundamental'. Nevertheless there is different background and understanding of fundamental rights, they are generally defined as '...hierarchical supreme norms, which judicially protect citizens against unjustified interference by public authority'.2 Fundamental rights receive the highest level of protection, as they do not only speak the language of the suffered people, but also protect the rights of the nation's citizens and are therefore essential values of a democratic legal system. Fundamental rights like human dignity, prohibition of slavery and forced labour, the respect of private and family life and the right to marry and to found a family are essential rights and represent a nations or unions values. Moreover fundamental rights ensure equality among citizens.