What might be reasons that explain why member-state governments, parliaments, and courts, on whose cooperation the CJEU often depends, have largely refrained from openly challenging the CJEU’s interpretations of EU law?Discuss

Question 1: 

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) – previously called European Court of Justice (ECJ) – has been a major player in the European integration process. With reference to selected cases decided by the CJEU, illustrate its importance in the European integration process.

What might be reasons that explain why member-state governments, parliaments, and courts, on whose cooperation the CJEU often depends, have largely refrained from openly challenging the CJEU’s interpretations of EU law?

Question 2:

The development of new EU policies is sometimes described as a process of “failing forward”. This phrase is meant to describe that, in many cases, a newly developed EU policy initially proves insufficient; this results in problems/crises; and these in turn trigger policy reforms which shift more powers to the EU level.

With reference to examples from selected fields of EU policy making, illustrate how the “failing forward” logic works. Why does “failing forward” happen so frequently in EU policy development? Would you consider it a good thing or a bad thing for the EU?

Question 3: 

One of the defining features of the EU’s political system is its consensus-based form of decision making. Some political scientists argue that this consensus orientation contributes to the EU’s “democratic deficit”, while others see it as a necessary component of democratic governance in a multinational polity.

With reference to the relevant literature, briefly summarize the institutional characteristics that make the EU so consensus-oriented, and then sketch the main arguments in the debate on whether this is good or bad for democracy. Do you think the EU can be democratized by making it less consensual and more majoritarian?

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