The Promise of the Pre-Article 7 Procedure

My paper provides an in-depth systematic analysis of the “pre-Article 7” procedure proposed by the Commission in Spring 2014 to deal with the possible crisis of the Rule of Law in the Member States and the general compliance with Article 2 TEU values. Triggered by the wide-spread reactions to the Fidesz-inspired Hungarian constitutional reform coming from all quarters, from the Venice Commission and the European Parliament to the Governments of Fellow Member States, the procedure proposed by the Commission is forward looking, in that it potentially enables the EU to react to the crises of values in the future. The core of the procedure lies outside of the strictly legal field, however. While liberating the Commission from the need to state a legal basis, causing criticism from the Council legal service, the elaborate procedure also suffers as a result, having no teeth. The contribution takes the importance of pre-Article 7 as a starting assumption, viewing it as merely a crucial first step on the way to the serious reinforcement of the Union’s capacity to ensure Article 2 is observed.