Target group
This practical and interactive seminar targets all public sector employees, who are in charge of or involved in the transposition of EU law and state officials and legal counsellors answering / preparing the defences of the State in all stages of the infringement procedure, irrespective of the level of government or origin of the case (i.e. national, regional and local level). The programme is also relevant to private practicing lawyers, consultants and other interested actors from the private sector, who wish to update their knowledge of the infringement procedure and obtain a comprehensive overview.

Description
As ‘Guardian of the Treaties’, one of the tasks entrusted to the European Commission by Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union is to oversee the application of EU law. The infringement procedure – Articles 258 to 260 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – is one of the enforcement mechanisms that can be applied by the Commission against a Member State whenever the Commission is of the opinion that the Member State is in breach of its obligations under European Union law. Divided into phases – pre-litigation (characterised by technical communication and negotiation between the Commission and the Member State in question) and litigation (jurisdictional phase, in front of the Court) – the purpose of this procedure is to give Member States the opportunity to voluntarily remedy the alleged breach of EU law and/or explain their position to the Commission. In case of persistence of the breach, the Commission will bring the Member State before the Court.

Learning methodology
Presentations, discussions and case studies. All sessions will include question and answer periods and the possibility to exchange experiences.

Objectives
This seminar provides a practical guide to the infringement procedure, analysing in detail the role of the Commission and the position of the Member States. This analysis will allow participants to understand the capacities and prerogatives of both actors, determining the different respective administrative and procedural strategies, both of which could potentially be resorted to throughout the procedure. In the particular case of the Member States, the objective of this seminar is to equip national administrations with the right methodology to improve the capacity and quality of their responses to Commission investigations on alleged infringements. In the potential scenario of the initiation of the jurisdictional phase of the procedure, the seminar will help Member States to select the right defence strategy to improve their position during the litigation. Finally, and in case of a final condemnatory ruling after the procedure, this seminar provides tips on how to comply with the judicial decision as swiftly as possible and hence avoid a new procedure, this time under Article 260 TFEU.

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