How much critical distance in the academic study of European law?

What is, in the field of European Union law, the proper role of academic scholars? And how, specifically, do they and should they relate to the work of the practitioners of European law who work in the various institutions of the European Union: in the Court of Justice, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the many other bodies and agencies? This kind of question is situated in a growing sub-field within the academic discipline of European Union law. That sub-field deals with self-reflection about the academic field itself. For instance, there are more and more contributions on the research methods to be used in dealing with EU law. There are also contributions by legal scholars on the sociology-and-politics of EU law academia. This essay fits into the latter category. It is about the sociology and politics of EU law as an academic discipline, but seen from one particular angle, namely the way in which EU law academic research is intertwined with the legal work accomplished by the European institutions.