The Constitutional Relationship between the European Union and its Member States: The Role of National Identity in Article 4(2) TEU

This contribution analyses the duty of the European Union in art.4(2) TEU to respect the national identities of its Member States. The central argument is that the concept of national identity entails that the European Union must factor the constitutional individuality of its Member States into its decision-making. This function of national identity is discussed in terms of the prerogative of the Member States to express their respective constitutional individualities on the one hand, and the duty of the European Union to respect such expression on the other The analysis shows that national identity is an important yet relative norm, which, although it enjoins the European Union to consider the possible effect of national features on its decision-making, does not qualify the primacy of EU law. This does not contradict the fact that the accommodation of national identity by the European Union must proceed in a spirit of dialogue.