'Guardian of the Rule of Law' - Effective enforcement of EU values through the rule of law framework

Sammanfattning: Different EU institutions have handled the rule of law-crisis in different ways, with strong academic criticism towards the Commission regarding that they should have a more systematic and aggressive approach in their Article 258 TFEU procedures. Through an analysis of the different procedures available in Article 7 TEU, Article 258, 259 and 267 TFEU it is researched how effective these procedures are when examined together with a theory of effectiveness, for the purpose of upholding the fundamental principles and values in Article 2 TEU and enforce these. The research shows that the Article 7 TEU procedure will not lead to sanctioning of the Member States violating the Unions fundamental principles and values, due to that the procedure is in principle impossible to enforce since it requires an unanimity vote in the European Council. Through studying relevant case law to Article 258 and 267 TFEU it becomes apparent that the Commission has used a more effective and systematic approach in their Article 258 TFEU procedures and that the CJEU is willing to rule in favour for the enforcement of the fundamental principles, both when it is the Commission that launches a case and when a Member State refers questions to the CJEU in a preliminary ruling. The effectiveness of these procedures is however subject to political influence from both the Commission and the CJEU. Article 259 TFEU could be a procedure deemed effective to uphold the fundamental principles, but it will take a strong will from the Member States to not rely on the Commission but rather launch their own procedures.