The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union includes, in addition to the traditional `civil and political rights`, a large number of rights of an economic or social nature. This collection of essays by leading scholars in this field considers the significance of the inclusion of such rights within the EU Charter, in terms of protection of individual and collective social and economic interests within and between the EU and its Member States. What differences might it make to EU law and policy (both in terms of its substance, and in terms of the processes by which it is formed), that certain economic and social rights are proclaimed in the EU Charter?