Working group Enforcement of EU law in the area of freedom security and justice Add to calendar 2024-01-15 14:30 2024-01-15 16:00 Europe/Rome Enforcement of EU law in the area of freedom security and justice Sala dei Cuoi Villa Salviati - Castle YYYY-MM-DD Print Share: Share on Facebook Share on BlueSky Share on X Share on LinkedIn Send by email Scheduled dates Jan 15 2024 14:30 - 16:00 CET Sala dei Cuoi, Villa Salviati - Castle Organised by Department of Law The European Union Law Working Group hosts a discussion with John Morijn (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs). Two years ago a paper by Tommaso Pavone and Dan Kelemen, 'Where have the guardians gone?' caused a big political debate in the European Union setting. The authors noted that the Commission, which under EU Treaties has the role of enforcing EU law vis-a-vis EU Member States as the so-called "Guardian of the Treaties", over the last 20 years dropped the ball on this by bringing about 80% fewer infringement actions. They speculate that this forbearance (or deliberate underenforcement) was intended to favour a different role of the Commission which is to initiate new legislation (for which Member States' cooperation is essential). It was the rare academic publication that led to intense policy debate and even forced the Commission to clarify its approach to enforcing EU law by publishing a new policy document. In it, the Commission argues that suing Member States is just one of many tools available to EU institutions to induce compliance with EU law, alongside other tools such as budgetary conditionality and more political monitoring methods, including with the help of various independent EU agencies. So it argues that a much wider perspective on enforcement than just the use of infringements is justified. The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) has commissioned a report to study the state of play with regard to the enforcement of EU law in the so-called Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) covering migration, asylum, data protection, fundamental rights and rule of law. This is the newest EU policy area that has only really developed over the last 20 years and is thus a good laboratory to assess new enforcement practices. The study, which will be presented at the event, is based on interviews with some 20 high-ranking insiders in EU institutions and EU agencies and very elaborate data analysis regarding enforcement. It applies the Commission's own wider approach to enforcement to its actual practice, criticises many elements of its record and formulate 22 policy recommendations for the Parliament to put pressure on the Commission to improve enforcement of EU law in the AFSJ.