Article 258 Tfeu - Key Features
“…judicial and legislative developments *have+ made the *infringement+ procedure [come] of age- from a rarely used, opaque and policy-driven procedure, it has now become a common, fairly transparent and highly technical procedure.” Prete & Smuldres “The coming of age of infringement proceedings” (2010) 47 CMLR 9 Has the infringement procedure finally “come of age”? Critically outline the key features of the Article 258 TFEU procedure and relevant caselaw. Article 258 TFEU (Formerly Art 226 EC) empowers the European Commission to deliver a reasoned opinion to a member state when it considers that the state has failed to fulfil an obligation under the treaties. The action seeks to “fulfil an obligation under the EC Treaty” and to “obtain a declaration that the conduct of a Member State infringes Community Law and of terminating that conduct”. If the Court of Justice of the European Union finds that the member state has failed to fulfil the obligation the member state shall be required to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment. Other mechanisms exist to secure the correct application of EU Law, including the principle of direct effect and primacy of EU Law. These measures permits an individual or a company to have their rights enforced before a national court on the basis of EU Law provisions, even if such provisions are not specified within the national legal system where the application is made. Article 258 TFEU can be described as a law enforcement tool against Member States. Each Member State is responsible for the applying EU Law in a manner that is full and correct. The Court has the power to decide if a Member State is meeting its obligations that is has under the Treaties. According to statistics from the Court, approximately 200 cases are lodged before it each year. This accounts for a fraction of the suspected infringements that are investigated. The vast majority of cases are resolved through dialogue and negotiation. As such, court