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Institutional Accountability in the light of Article 2 TEU

Pålsson, Hilda LU (2026) JURM02 20261
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) establishes the values upon which the European Union (EU) is founded. Potential breaches of the founding values are often discussed in the light of Member State action, where Article 7 TEU, although difficult to apply in practice, serves as a sanction mechanism to attain Member State accountability. Regarding institutional accountability, the EU has recently been criticized by human rights organizations and scholars who argue that certain secondary legislative acts do not fully align with the values of Article 2 TEU. In parallel with this discussion, the interpretation of Article 2 TEU by the CJEU has developed significantly in recent years. In the landmark judgment of Commission v Hungary of... (More)
Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) establishes the values upon which the European Union (EU) is founded. Potential breaches of the founding values are often discussed in the light of Member State action, where Article 7 TEU, although difficult to apply in practice, serves as a sanction mechanism to attain Member State accountability. Regarding institutional accountability, the EU has recently been criticized by human rights organizations and scholars who argue that certain secondary legislative acts do not fully align with the values of Article 2 TEU. In parallel with this discussion, the interpretation of Article 2 TEU by the CJEU has developed significantly in recent years. In the landmark judgment of Commission v Hungary of April 2026, the CJEU for the first time, confirmed that Article 2 TEU is a self-standing provision and that the institutions are as equally bound by the obligations stemming from Article 2 TEU as the Member States. Given the criticized legislation and the recent interpretative developments on Article 2 TEU by the CJEU, the aim of the thesis is to examine to what extent Article 2 TEU can be invoked to establish a violation of the article in the context of secondary legislative acts. The thesis examines institutional accountability in the light of Article 2 TEU by applying the legal dogmatic method and the EU legal method. The thesis further explores the development of Article 2 TEU in the Treaty and case law, the legal arguments that support and challenge a self-standing application of Article 2 TEU and the possible means of enforcement of Article 2 TEU in relation to the institutions. It can be concluded that the interpretation by the CJEU in Commission v Hungary is a result of prior case law that started with the delivery of Portuguese Judges in 2018. When the CJEU found a self-standing breach of Article 2 TEU, it introduced the “manifest test” which established the criteria for finding a violation of Article 2 TEU per se. While the test is applied in relation to Member State action in Commission v Hungary, it might potentially in theory, also be applicable to the actions of EU institutions and its secondary legislation. Now when it is clarified that the same obligations stemming from Article 2 TEU apply to the institutions and the Member States, would it not be reasonable to invoke the test towards the EU institutions? In practice however, challenges and unanswered questions remain, specifically since the finding of a breach of Article 2 TEU regarding secondary legislation would imply that the EU has violated its own constitutional core and identity. Nonetheless, the recent interpretation of Article 2 TEU in Commission v Hungary is likely to have an impact on how the legal argumentation in enforcement proceedings against institutions are formulated and broaden the possibilities of invoking Article 2 TEU in such proceedings, notably concerning secondary legislation. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Artikel 2 i Fördraget om Europeiska unionen (FEU) stadgar att Europeiska
unionen (EU) bygger och grundas på värden. Eventuella åsidosättande av
dessa värden diskuteras ofta i ljuset av medlemsstaters agerande, där artikel
7 FEU trots dess tillämpningsproblematik, fungerar som en
sanktionsmekanism för ansvarsutkrävande av medlemsstater. Avseende
institutionernas ansvar, har EU kritiserats av människorättsorganisationer och
forskare som menar att viss sekundärrätt inte beaktar artikel 2 FEU i
tillräcklig utsträckning. Samtidigt har EU-domstolens tolkning av artikel 2
FEU utvecklats avsevärt de senaste åren och i april 2026 meddelandes det
vägledande målet Kommissionen mot Ungern. EU-domstolen fastslog för
första gången att artikel... (More)
Artikel 2 i Fördraget om Europeiska unionen (FEU) stadgar att Europeiska
unionen (EU) bygger och grundas på värden. Eventuella åsidosättande av
dessa värden diskuteras ofta i ljuset av medlemsstaters agerande, där artikel
7 FEU trots dess tillämpningsproblematik, fungerar som en
sanktionsmekanism för ansvarsutkrävande av medlemsstater. Avseende
institutionernas ansvar, har EU kritiserats av människorättsorganisationer och
forskare som menar att viss sekundärrätt inte beaktar artikel 2 FEU i
tillräcklig utsträckning. Samtidigt har EU-domstolens tolkning av artikel 2
FEU utvecklats avsevärt de senaste åren och i april 2026 meddelandes det
vägledande målet Kommissionen mot Ungern. EU-domstolen fastslog för
första gången att artikel 2 FEU kan åsidosättas per se och att EUinstitutionerna måste respektera de skyldigheter som följer av artikel 2 FEU i
samma utsträckning som medlemsstaterna.
Mot bakgrund av kritiken mot institutionernas lagstiftning och utvecklingen
gällande tolkningen av artikel 2 FEU, är syftet med uppsatsen att utreda i
vilken utsträckning artikel 2 FEU kan användas för att etablera ett
åsidosättande av artikeln avseende sekundära lagstiftningsakter. Uppsatsen
behandlar institutionernas ansvarsskyldighet i ljuset av artikel 2 FEU genom
att tillämpa rättsdogmatisk metod och EU-rättslig metod. I uppsatsen
utforskas framväxten av artikel 2 i fördraget och dess utveckling i praxis,
juridiska argument för och emot en tillämpning av artikel 2 FEU per se, samt
möjliga förfarande för åberopandet av artikel 2 FEU mot institutionerna.
Det går att dra slutsatsen att EU-domstolens tolkning av artikel 2 FEU i
Kommissionen mot Ungern är ett resultat av flera domar som följde efter
målet Portuguese Judges från 2018. Vid etablerandet av åsidosättandet av
artikel 2 FEU per se, introducerade EU-domstolen ett ”manifest test” med
särskilda kriterier för hur en överträdelse av de grundläggande värdena skulle
fastställas. I Kommissionen mot Ungern tillämpades testet mot en
medlemsstat, men i teorin skulle det möjligen kunna tillämpas även mot EUinstitutionerna och sekundära lagstiftningsakter. Eftersom det klargjorts att
institutionerna har samma skyldigheter som medlemsstaterna under artikel 2
FEU – kan testet inte då även tillämpas mot institutionerna? I praktiken
kvarstår dock utmaningar och obesvarade frågor, särskilt då en överträdelse
av artikel 2 FEU av institutionerna skulle innebära att EU har åsidosatt sin
konstitutionella kärna och identitet. Tolkningen av artikel 2 FEU i
Kommissionen mot Ungern kommer troligen påverka hur den juridiska
argumentationen förs i juridiska processer mot institutionerna och utöka
möjligheterna att använda artikel 2 FEU mot institutionerna, särskilt avseende
sekundära lagstiftningsakter. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Pålsson, Hilda LU
supervisor
organization
course
JURM02 20261
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
EU law
language
English
id
9226933
date added to LUP
2026-06-08 08:35:01
date last changed
2026-06-08 08:35:01
@misc{9226933,
  abstract     = {{Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) establishes the values upon which the European Union (EU) is founded. Potential breaches of the founding values are often discussed in the light of Member State action, where Article 7 TEU, although difficult to apply in practice, serves as a sanction mechanism to attain Member State accountability. Regarding institutional accountability, the EU has recently been criticized by human rights organizations and scholars who argue that certain secondary legislative acts do not fully align with the values of Article 2 TEU. In parallel with this discussion, the interpretation of Article 2 TEU by the CJEU has developed significantly in recent years. In the landmark judgment of Commission v Hungary of April 2026, the CJEU for the first time, confirmed that Article 2 TEU is a self-standing provision and that the institutions are as equally bound by the obligations stemming from Article 2 TEU as the Member States. Given the criticized legislation and the recent interpretative developments on Article 2 TEU by the CJEU, the aim of the thesis is to examine to what extent Article 2 TEU can be invoked to establish a violation of the article in the context of secondary legislative acts. The thesis examines institutional accountability in the light of Article 2 TEU by applying the legal dogmatic method and the EU legal method. The thesis further explores the development of Article 2 TEU in the Treaty and case law, the legal arguments that support and challenge a self-standing application of Article 2 TEU and the possible means of enforcement of Article 2 TEU in relation to the institutions. It can be concluded that the interpretation by the CJEU in Commission v Hungary is a result of prior case law that started with the delivery of Portuguese Judges in 2018. When the CJEU found a self-standing breach of Article 2 TEU, it introduced the “manifest test” which established the criteria for finding a violation of Article 2 TEU per se. While the test is applied in relation to Member State action in Commission v Hungary, it might potentially in theory, also be applicable to the actions of EU institutions and its secondary legislation. Now when it is clarified that the same obligations stemming from Article 2 TEU apply to the institutions and the Member States, would it not be reasonable to invoke the test towards the EU institutions? In practice however, challenges and unanswered questions remain, specifically since the finding of a breach of Article 2 TEU regarding secondary legislation would imply that the EU has violated its own constitutional core and identity. Nonetheless, the recent interpretation of Article 2 TEU in Commission v Hungary is likely to have an impact on how the legal argumentation in enforcement proceedings against institutions are formulated and broaden the possibilities of invoking Article 2 TEU in such proceedings, notably concerning secondary legislation.}},
  author       = {{Pålsson, Hilda}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Institutional Accountability in the light of Article 2 TEU}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}