Solidarity in the EU. Beyond Eu Treaty Provisions on Solidarity

This paper intends to analyze solidarity in its horizontal or inter-State dimension. It will first revisit the notion as referred to in the Schuman Declaration, proposing an interpretation of its original meaning. The paper posits that, as far as EU Member States are concerned, solidarity refers to a bond created by the interconnection of interests and the pursuance of common objectives. This is also the expression of redistribution of costs and benefits of common policies. It also encapsulates, as a result of the case-law of the ECJ, the treaty obligations which preclude EU Member States from acting unilaterally when they might compromise the realization of common goods. This notion of solidarity will be the key to interpreting the voting procedures in the Council, differentiated integration, and conditionality. The paper will finally consider the case of the re-collocation of asylum seekers as an illustration of some of the issues previously discussed.