National Sovereignty and European Union Law

Understandings of national sovereignty have shifted during the European Union's (EU 's) history. For most of it, sovereignty granted a national monopoly over three things: rule, subjection and determining the terms of the national political community. EU law's authority was only vigorously contested if it threatened that monopoly. Recent practice suggests a shift. Disputes between EU law and national sovereignty are to be resolved through reference to a shared constitutional democratic discipline. This discipline requires recognition of the constitutional democratic worth of sovereignty but also that it be tempered by constitutional democratic values. This has led to the consequences of these conflicts becoming less acute and the possibility that, for the first time, shared constitutional democratic values will actively underpin the wider settlement in the EU.