Horizontal Review

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores two horizontal ways in which national institutions can contribute to ensuring constitutional homogeneity across the Verbund. First, national governments can launch infringement procedures under Article 259 TFEU. This path seems especially promising if Member States launch such procedures together. Second, national courts can review a Member State’s compliance with Article 2 TEU through the gateway of mutual recognition regimes. The Court clarified that cooperation under these regimes must be suspended in case of demonstrated non-compliance with Article 2 TEU. This turns mutual recognition regimes into instruments for detecting and countering systemic deficiencies. Yet, this gateway has been conceived in extremely narrow terms and proves difficult to handle in practice. So far, only the European Arrest Warrant regime has been operated in this way. Still, this approach could be extended to other mutual recognition regimes as well and thus increase the pressure on non-compliant Member States.