"This paper draws on findings from a broad research project that employed a constructionist approach in analysing policy-discourse in the EU. It uses sources produced by the European Commission between 1958 and 2015 for this purpose. The research is used as the basis from which to analyse how the EU's conception of social justice has hanged over time. The paper analyses two periods in detail, namely 1958 – 1979 and 2010 – 2015 to illustrate the nature of the change that has taken place.

The purpose of the paper is to provide the groundwork for further study into the reasons behind the growing dissatisfaction that European citizens feel towards the EU, and to help to reveal the possible ways this problem can be addressed. It intends to do this by using discourse-analysis to gain a better understanding of the relationship between discourse, legal measures, and social outcomes, and to provide a benchmark against which the ffectiveness of legal and policy-measures can be assessed. It attempts to shed light on the institutionally embedded ideas and understandings that underpin the law and the legal process, how these change over time, and how they influence and shape the nature of the contribution that the EU makes to society."

Support: Digital