THE INFRINGEMENT PROCEDURE IN THE RULE OF LAW CRISIS: HOWTO MAKE EFFECTIVE USE OF ARTICLE 258 TFEU.

The Union's rule of law crisis has worsened and has led to ample reactions from academia and EU institutions. Most notably, the situation in Poland culminated in the activation of the procedure under Article 7(1) TEU by the European Commission. This article suggests that the infringement procedure under Article 258 TFEU may yield a fully complementary, yet more effective, means alongside existing measures to address not only specific and episodic violations of EU law, but also a general situation in a Member State as a systemic deficiency in the rule of law. Conscious of suggestions made before us in this regard, we offer a reconstruction of the infringement action de lege lata by engaging, step-by-step, with the procedural and substantive hurdles to overcome in this attempt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]