Infringement Proceedings As a Tool for the Enforcement of Fundamental Rights in the European Union
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INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS AS A TOOL FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS AS A TOOL FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION October 2017 1 uic b n dog. open society foundations some rights reserved | opensocietyfoundations.org Author Professor Olivier De Schutter This report was commissioned by the Open Society European Policy Institute INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS AS A TOOL FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION CONTENTS List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 II. INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS IN GENERAL: THEORY AND PRACTICE ...................................................................................................................................................................................11 1. The sequence ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................11 A) The pre-litigation stage ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................11 B) The litigation stage .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 C) The follow-up ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................20 2. Infringement proceedings in practice ......................................................................................................................................................20 III. THE ROLE OF INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS IN UPHOLDING THE VALUES ON WHICH THE EUROPEAN UNION IS FOUNDED .................................................27 1. Infringement proceedings as a tool for fundamental rights enforcement: three scenarios .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................27 A) Treaty-based infringement ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 28 B) Legislation-based infringement .........................................................................................................................................................................................................30 C) Charter-based infringement .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 2. Infringement proceedings and political monitoring of compliance with fundamental rights ...................................................................................................................................................................................................33 A) The role of Article 7 TEU .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................34 B) The rule of law framework .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................36 C) The complementarity of legal and political monitoring of fundamental rights .................................................37 3. Infringement proceedings and the referral for preliminary rulings ...................................................42 A) The importance of a preventive approach ....................................................................................................................................................................... 42 B) Obstacles to the initiation of judicial proceedings at the domestic level ......................................................................44 C) The pre-emption of a human rights assessment by the European Court of Human Rights ......44 D) Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................45 1 uic b n dog. open society foundations some rights reserved | opensocietyfoundations.org INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS AS A TOOL FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION IV. OUTSTANDING OBSTACLES: HOW TO IMPROVE INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS AS A TOOL TO UPHOLD THE VALUES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ....................................................................................................................46 1. Strengthening the position of the complainant ....................................................................................................................46 A) The discretionary powers of the Commission and the role of complainants in the infringement procedure ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................46 B) Access to information ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 52 2. Moving towards a principled use of the power to bring infringement proceedings .............................................................................................................................................................................................61 The nature of the data relating to the situation of fundamental rights in the EU ...................................................61 3. Systematically inquiring about whether fundamental rights are taken into consideration in the implementation of EU law ..................................................................................................63 V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................................................................................................65 2 uic b n dog. open society foundations some rights reserved | opensocietyfoundations.org INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS AS A TOOL FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION List of abbreviations CJEU Court of Justice of the European Union DG Directorate-General ECHR European Convention on Human Rights ECtHR European Court of Human Rights EU European Union FRA Fundamental Rights Agency NGOs Non-governmental organisations TEU Treaty on the European Union TFEU Treaty on the Functionning of the European Union 3 uic b n dog. open society foundations some rights reserved | opensocietyfoundations.org INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS AS A TOOL FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) states that the Union is founded on the values of “respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities”. This report explores the potential of infringement proceedings filed against the European Union (EU) member states to ensure compliance with EU law, to uphold the values enumerated in Article 2 TEU, and in particular, to ensure that member states fully adhere to fundamental rights in the scope of application of Union law. Under Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Commission may file an action to obtain from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) a judgment finding that a member state has failed to comply with EU law. However, the potential of using this power remains partly untapped in the area of fundamental rights. This report argues that infringement proceedings should become part and parcel of a fundamental rights policy of the EU. As set out in Article 7 TEU, the values listed in Article 2 TEU are subject to a form of