MEP Marieke Ehlers (PfE) has submitted a written parliamentary question to the European Commission on 7 May 2026, probing how the Commission plans to adapt its infringement strategy following a landmark Court of Justice ruling that allows Article 2 TEU to serve as a self-standing legal basis in infringement proceedings. The question targets the potential shift from political Article 7 procedures to judicial enforcement of EU values, and raises concerns about respecting national constitutional identities.
The question follows the CJEU's judgment in Case C-769/22 (Commission v Hungary), which recognised that Article 2 TEU — the provision enshrining the EU's founding values such as democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights — can be invoked independently in infringement actions under Article 258 TFEU. This development could significantly expand the Commission's toolkit for enforcing EU values, complementing the political mechanism under Article 7 TEU, which requires unanimity in the Council and has been criticised as slow and politically fraught.
Ehlers asks three concrete questions. First, how the Commission intends to integrate Article 2 TEU as a stand-alone ground in its infringement strategy, and whether it plans to prioritise Article 258 proceedings over initiating or advancing Article 7 TEU procedures. Second, to what extent the Commission considers that judgments based directly on Article 2 TEU could serve as evidentiary or procedural support in ongoing or future Article 7 TEU proceedings against individual Member States. Third, how the Commission will ensure that the expanded use of Article 2 TEU in infringement actions respects the principle of conferral and avoids encroaching on Member States' constitutional identities, without enforcing an ideological agenda through lawfare.
The question signals a policy cleavage between judicial enforcement of EU values and respect for national sovereignty. On one hand, using Article 2 TEU as a standalone ground could strengthen the Commission's ability to act against rule-of-law backsliding without the political hurdles of Article 7. On the other hand, critics argue it may centralise power in EU institutions and risk imposing a uniform ideological standard on diverse national legal traditions. The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks; its answer will indicate whether it plans to pursue a more legalistic approach to enforcing EU values or maintain a political balance.
Stakeholders most impacted include EU regulatory bodies (the Commission and CJEU), national authorities of Member States potentially subject to infringement actions, EU legal professionals and constitutional experts, and civil society organisations monitoring rule-of-law compliance. The outcome could affect the balance between EU integration and national sovereignty, with implications for the speed and effectiveness of enforcing fundamental EU values.
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