(Mutual) Trust in European Law: A Cross-Sectoral Analysis of Regulation and Enforcement in the Shared European Legal Order

Abstract

The principle of mutual trust is, according to the Court of Justice of the European Union, of “fundamental importance” for European integration. It has facilitated market integration and cooperation between national authorities in areas such as immigration and criminal law enforcement, because it in principle requires a Member State of the European Union (EU) to accept as valid legal solutions (laws, decisions, etc.) from another Member State, based on the assumption that those legal acts adhere to common standards contained in EU legislation or, in the absence thereof, to values and principles shared between the Member States. The first Member State is thus precluded from controlling legal solutions originating from the second Member State, unless there is prima facie reason to question the compliance with EU fundamental rights or other common values. Apart from governing the relationships among EU Member States, trust is crucial in shaping the relationships between EU and national authorities as well as between citizens and public and private authorities. These authorities act at different levels of governance, using also instruments other than EU legislation and acting at multiple stages of regulation and enforcement processes. In line with the mission of the Utrecht Centre for Regulation and Enforcement in Europe (RENFORCE), the proposed panel will explore these different dimensions of trust-based governance in selected areas of European law. The contributions examine (1) the principle of mutual trust in the decentralised enforcement of EU competition law; (2) the impact of EU regulation via soft law on trust between the EU institutions and the Member States; (3) trust among national authorities in the field of taxation, which lies at the heart of state sovereignty; (4) the meaning of trust and its role in legitimising expert-based regulation.

Title	Details
The principle of mutual trust in the decentralised enforcement of EU competition law	View Paper Details
Interactions through Soft Law in the EU Multi-level Space – the Cases of Competition Enforcement and Telecommunications Regulation	View Paper Details
“Trust Me, I’m an Expert”: Conceptualizing Trust in Epistemic Regulation in the Internal Market	View Paper Details