The Rule of Law in the EU: What the Numbers Say

This article examines the compliance record of the Member States of the European Union. It analyses statistics on the so-called “infringement procedures” in order to find out whether there is any foundation for the claims that the EU
is suffering from a “pathological” non-compliance. Our analysis leads us to the conclusion that such claims are exaggerated. However, there are significant discrepancies among Member States. The record of the least compliant Member States is four times worse than that of the
most compliant countries! Moreover, when Member States persist in infringing EC law [i.e. despite Commission warnings and judgements by the European Court of Justice], they do it for a long time that, on average, exceeds a decade. Yet, what is even more puzzling is that there are only so few infringements. Sanctions against non-compliant Member States hardly have any real deterrent effect. Despite the fact that some Member States are regularly hauled before
the Court, the conclusion must be that there is indeed respect for the rule of law in the EU.