Unity and Disunity in the European Union
and Respect for Common Values:
Article 7 TEU and Institutional Dilemmas
on the Borders of Integration Law
Member of the Legal Service at the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
All opinions expressed in this paper are strictly personal.
Art. 7 TEU reflects a fundamental premise underlying the European project that unity is based both on common interest and common values. The “nuclear option” of Art. 7 TEU but also a number of alternative avenues, involving the use of judicial, financial and soft law procedures under the existing Treaties or following a Treaty reform, give rise to important institutional dilemmas explored in this paper, notably in terms of unity and disunity in the European Union. Unity based on common values relies on a consistent application of effective tools of protection and, at the same time, on a certain sense of balancing between fundamental common principles and institutional plurality among Member States. In this context, the main object of this paper is to point to the potential of existing judicial procedures in the event of a deadlock of Art. 7 mechanisms. This applies in particular to judicial means of review concerning the requirements of the rule of law, which form the backbone of the Union’s legal system.
* The present paper has been updated until 31.08.2018.
