The European Union currently faces a variety of challenges.Since it is constituted as a Community based on the rule oflaw, the case-law of the European Court of Justice enablesthese challenges to be pinpointed with considerable precision.Reason enough for the 12th Legal Policy Conference of theKonrad-Adenauer-Stiftung to conduct a detailed examinationof the contribution made by the European Court of Justice toresolving the present challenges confronting the EuropeanUnion.