Treaty Infringement Proceedings in Europe

Treaty Infringement Proceedings (Article 258 TFEU)

This is a procedure for establishing whether a Member State has failed to fulfil an obligation imposed on it by Union law. It is conducted exclusively before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Given the seriousness of the accusation, the referral to the Court of Justice must be preceded by a preliminary procedure in which the Member State is given the opportunity to submit its observations. If the dispute is not settled at that stage, either the Commission (Article 258 TFEU) or another Member State (Article 259 TFEU) may institute an action in the Court. In practice the initiative is usually taken by the Commission. The Court investigates the complaint and decides whether a Treaty has been infringed. If so, the offending Member State is then required to take the measures needed to conform. If a Member State fails to comply with a judgment given against it, the Commission has the possibility of a second court ruling ordering that State to pay a lump-sum fine or a penalty (Article 260 TFEU). There are therefore serious financial implications for a Member State which continues to disregard a Court judgment against it for Treaty infringement.