Sincere cooperation
In European Union law, sincere cooperation (Article 4(3) TEU) is one of the foundational principles of the European Union, which determines that the Union and the Member States are required to implement any necessary measures to guarantee compliance with the duties stemming from the Treaties "in full mutual respect"[1][2].
Sincere cooperation is mentioned explicitly not only in the Treaty on European Union but also in the Court of Justice of the EU's case law, applicable to different exclusive, shared, supporting competences, such as the environment, the Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice, public health, competition rules governing the internal market, and others[3][4][5].
The jurisprudence of the CJEU has elaborated on four main responsibilities that derive from the principle of sincere cooperation[1]:
1) An obligation for respect and assistance between the EU and Member States in attaining the Treaties' objectives
2) Member States have an active obligation to cooperate and comply with original and derivative European law
3) Member States need to refrain from taking any measures that would impede the aims and goals of the Union
4) Member States should facilitate the institutions of the EU to accomplish the Union's objectives.
Constitutional origins
In Article 10 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) from 2002, the provision contains the outlines of what is today known as "the principle of sincere cooperation"[6]:
Member States shall take all appropriate measures, whether general or particular, to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising out of this Treaty or resulting from action taken by the institutions of the Community. They shall facilitate the achievement of the Community's tasks. They shall abstain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the objectives of this Treaty.
— Treaty establishing the European Community (Consolidated version 2002), Article 10
However, since the Treaty of Lisbon the provisions have been enhanced through Articles 4(3) and Article 24(3) of TEU[7]:
3. Pursuant to the principle of sincere cooperation, the Union and the Member States shall, in full mutual respect, assist each other in carrying out tasks which flow from the Treaties.
The Member States shall take any appropriate measure, general or particular, to ensure fulfilment of the obligations arising out of the Treaties or resulting from the acts of the institutions of the Union.
The Member States shall facilitate the achievement of the Union's tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the Union's objectives.
— Treaty on European Union, Article 4
Initially, it is notable that sincere cooperation gained a more significant prominence in the founding treaties and a more central position, that follows immediately after the Union's values[7]. More importantly, the relationship with the principle of sincere cooperation has been widened as a two-way street, that does not only involve the Member States but also requires reciprocity from the Union's institutions[7][8]. This balance can be witnessed in Article 13 TEU[9]:
2. Each institution shall act within the limits of the powers conferred on it in the Treaties, and in conformity with the procedures, conditions and objectives set out in them. The institutions shall practice mutual sincere cooperation.
— Treaty on European Union, Article 13
This balance with sincere cooperation between inter-parties relationship, regarding the Member States and the Union, has thus been extended to intra-institutional relationships, within the EU. The constitutional origin of this intra-institutional commitment to sincere cooperation could be traced in CJEU case law, such as the case Greece v Council from 1986[10] and Luxembourg v Parliament from 1981[11], where the Court established that "the operation of the budgetary procedure..., is based essentially on inter-institutional dialogue. That dialogue is subject to the same mutual duties of sincere cooperation which, as the Court has held, govern relations between the Member States and the Community institutions..."[7][10].
Spheres of implementation
Case law
ECHR and sincere cooperation
- ^ a b Petrescu-Mag, Ruxandra (March 2015). "THE PRINCIPLE OF SINCERE COOPERATION: A PICTURE ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. WHAT DOES THE CJEU HAVE TO SAY?: ACCES LA SUCCESS". Calitatea. 16 (1): 345–348.
- ^ Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union - TITLE I COMMON PROVISIONS - Article 4, 2012-10-26, retrieved 2024-05-15
- ^ "Case C‑128/17". curia.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ "Case C‑600/14". curia.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ "C‑615/20 and C‑671/20". curia.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ Treaty establishing the European Community (Consolidated version 2002), 2002-12-24, retrieved 2024-05-15
- ^ a b c d Van Elsuwuge, Peter (2011). "The duty of sincere cooperation (Art. 4 (3) TEU) and its implications for the national interest of EU Member States in the field of external relations". European Law Review. 36: 522–539.
- ^ Dragišić, Radmila (2023). "The basic principle of sincere cooperation in the law of the European Union". Glasnik Advokatske komore Vojvodine. 95 (2): 611–642. doi:10.5937/gakv95-37970. ISSN 0017-0933.
- ^ Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union#TITLE III - PROVISIONS ON THE INSTITUTIONS#Article 13, 2016-06-07, retrieved 2024-05-15
{{citation}}: no-break space character in|title=at position 104 (help) - ^ a b "C-204/86 - Greece v Council". curia.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ "C-230/81 - Luxembourg v Parliament". curia.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-05-15.