The notion of ‘undermining the internal market’ and its legal meaning
The notion of ‘undermining the internal market’ and its legal meaning

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims at establishing the meaning of the notion of ‘undermining the internal market’. It is not only a general notion of EU law, but also a specific, negative condition for employing enhanced cooperation procedure in European Union law. The problem is significant for both theoretical and practical reasons. Firstly, it concerns the proper method of interpretation of the notion in question – especially when we consider the fact that in case law, the Court of Justice of the EU relies solely on arguments of economic (pragmatic) nature and does not employ any methods of legal interpretation. Secondly, the proper method of interpretation of the notion of „undermining the internal market” may lead to the conclusion that enhanced cooperation is not allowed in certain situations. To deal with the issue, we briefly present the procedure of enhanced cooperation with its hitherto adoptions in the EU law. We also analyse the Court’s case-law on these adoptions, with an emphasis on the interpretation of the notion of ‘undermining the internal market’. Having done this, we suggest another method of interpretation of the discussed notion. Against such a background, the suggested method is confronted with the system of unitary patent protection being introduced in the internal market through the enhanced cooperation procedure.

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