What happened to centralised enforcement?

Abstract

This chapter demonstrates the divergence between textbook conceptions of the European Commission as the ‘Guardian of the Treaties’ and empirical practice by investigating developments in the centralised enforcement of EU law – that is, in the Commission’s use of the infringement procedure. Since the Barroso II Commission, the number of infringement files that the Commission has decided to refer to the CJEU has declined drastically. The chapter explores potential origins of this development and focuses on the consequences. It shows that the Commission has primarily reduced its enforcement action vis-à-vis the ‘old’ fifteen Member States. Previous ‘usual suspects’ such as Italy and Spain are now no longer discernible. Moreover, from a previous focus on the internal market, taxation, mobility and transport, and the environment, only the latter remains a substantive priority. The internal market, in particular, has gone from priority to afterthought in centralised enforcement.