Equality in Institutional Practice: The Treatment of Member States by EU Institutions

SEHNÁLEK, David. Equality in Institutional Practice: The Treatment of Member States by EU Institutions. In David Sehnálek. Unequal Equals? The Status of Member States in an Integrating European Union. Miskolc–Budapest: Central European Academic Publishing, 2026, s. 211-231. Studies of the Central European Professors’ Network. ISBN 978-615-7027-38-1. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.54237/profnet.2026.dsuesmsieu_6.

Základní údaje

Originální název

Equality in Institutional Practice: The Treatment of Member States by EU Institutions

Autoři

SEHNÁLEK, David

Vydání

Miskolc–Budapest, Unequal Equals? The Status of Member States in an Integrating European Union, od s. 211-231, 21 s. Studies of the Central European Professors’ Network, 2026

Nakladatel

Central European Academic Publishing

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Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Kapitola resp. kapitoly v odborné knize

Obor

50500 5.5 Law

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Forma vydání

tištěná verze "print"

Označené pro přenos do RIV

Ano

Organizační jednotka

Právnická fakulta

ISBN

978-615-7027-38-1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54237/profnet.2026.dsuesmsieu_6

Klíčová slova anglicky

equality of Member States; the rule of law; politicisation of EU institutions; discretionary powers; democratic deficit; unequal treatment

Příznaky

Mezinárodní význam, Recenzováno

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Anotace

V originále

This chapter examines whether EU Member States are genuinely equal before EU institutions in the context of the rule of law (Art. 2 TEU). While the EU rigorously monitors Member States' compliance with the rule of law, less attention is paid to whether the EU itself applies rules equally to all states. Excluding systemic differences like budget contributions or representation ratios, the study focuses on how institutions treat Member States in practice. The findings indicate that the European Parliament and European Council currently pose little risk of unequal treatment due to their lack of binding discriminatory powers and unanimity safeguards. However, the Council's broad discretion has historically led to inequalities, such as sparing certain large states from fiscal sanctions. Most critically, the European Commission's shift from a neutral, technocratic body to a highly politicised one has resulted in the uneven enforcement of EU law, subjecting some states to stricter scrutiny than others. Only the Court of Justice (CJEU) remains a steadfast guarantor of equality. The study concludes that efforts to address the EU's democratic deficit by linking the Commission more closely to the Parliament have paradoxically compromised the Commission's impartiality. Future expansions of these institutions' powers must therefore be carefully monitored to prevent further erosion of Member State equality.