Suspension of EU membership

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The suspension of EU membership is a procedure of the European Union (EU) with which a violation of the fundamental values ​​of the European Union according to Article 2 of the EU Treaty by a member state can be sanctioned. The basis for this is Article 7 of the EU Treaty. This provision was originally introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam .

requirements

A suspension of EU membership of a state is possible according to Art. 7 EU Treaty if a Member State seriously violates the fundamental values ​​of the European Union according to Art. 2 EU Treaty, i.e. respect for human dignity , freedom , democracy , equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights and the rights of persons belonging to minorities.

Procedure

Establishing the risk of injury

In a first step, the Council establishes the mere risk of a serious violation of the fundamental values ​​under Article 2 of the EU Treaty . It acts on the proposal of a third of the Member States, the European Parliament or the Commission . Parliament's approval is required, with a majority of the members and 2/3 of the votes cast. The Member State concerned is heard. The council decides with a 4/5 majority.

After the determination, the Council sends appropriate recommendations to the Member State and regularly checks whether the conditions for the determination are still met.

Establishing an Injury

The final determination of a serious and persistent violation of the fundamental values ​​according to Art. 2 EU Treaty can also be requested by one third of the member states or the Commission, but not by Parliament; but this must agree with the statement. The Member State is heard.

In this case, the determination is incumbent on the European Council , which has to decide unanimously.

Sanctions

After a serious and persistent violation of the fundamental values ​​according to Art. 2 EU Treaty by a member state has been established, the Council can, with a qualified majority, decide to suspend certain rights of the member state under the treaties, including its right to vote in the Council. The effects of the suspension on third parties must be taken into account. The obligations of the Member State remain unaffected.

If the requirements change, the Council can also lift the sanctions again with a qualified majority.

practice

So far, the European Union has not made use of the possibility of suspending membership rights.

In 2000, the governments of the EU member states reduced their contacts with the Austrian federal government Schüssel I to a minimum after the right-wing populist FPÖ had formed a government coalition with the ÖVP . However, the measures were by no means taken on the basis of Art. 7 TEU, the prerequisites of which would not have been met. Rather, it was a matter of multilateral coordinated actions by the other 14 EU states that had nothing to do with the EU as such (" EU XIV sanctions "). Nonetheless, these events were one of the reasons for the reform of the suspension law by the Treaty of Nice 2001. In particular, Article 7 of the EU Treaty, as amended by the Treaty of Nice, expressly provided that the Council "may request independent persons to [...] to submit a report […] ”, as was done under the EU-XIV sanctions. However, this provision was deleted again by the Lisbon Treaty .

In 2017, a possible suspension of Poland and Hungary's EU membership was discussed. A joint procedure against both states was also discussed.

This article or section needs to be revised: proceedings against Poland have now been initiated. [1] [2] .
Please help to improve it , and then remove this flag.

On September 12, 2018, a two-thirds majority of the members of the European Parliament called on the European Council to initiate legal proceedings against Hungary.

literature

  • Thomas Oppermann : European law . 3rd edition, Munich: CH Beck 2005. ISBN 3-406-53541-0 . P. 212 f.
  • Erhard Busek, Martin Schauer (Hrsg.): A European excitement: the "sanctions" of the fourteen against Austria in the year 2000, analyzes and comments . Vienna, Cologne, Weimar: Böhlau 2003. ISBN 3-205-77121-4 .
  • André Hau: Sanctions and preliminary measures to safeguard fundamental European values. Legal questions on Art. 7 EU. Baden-Baden 2002. NOMOS, IUS EUROPAEUM series , volume 19. ISBN 978-3-7890-8310-5 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Report by Martti Ahtisaari, Jochen Frowein, Marcelino Oreja in the German translation (PDF document; 126 kB)
  2. ↑ Heribert Prantl : Orbán's crime under European law must have consequences. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . Süddeutsche Zeitung Digitale Medien GmbH / Süddeutsche Zeitung GmbH, September 8, 2017, accessed on September 10, 2017 : “The unanimity is of course torpedoed: Poland votes against EU sanctions against Hungary, Hungary votes against EU sanctions against Poland. This defensive alliance can be undermined by the fact that the rule of law infringement proceedings against Hungary and Poland are carried out simultaneously and in parallel. "
  3. ^ Rule of law proceedings against Hungary . Tagesschau.de, September 12, 2018.