Il ruolo della cooperazione rafforzata nell’Unione europea: meccanismo di propulsione dell’integrazione o elemento di divario tra Stati membri?

The Article investigates the features of the rules on enhanced co-operation, as amended by Treaty of Nice, with a view to understand the shadows and the lights of a mechanism favouring flexibility in the enlarged European Union. It goes through a comprehensive analysis addressing the conditions set out for the establishment of the enhanced co-operation, the authorisation procedures applicable in the three “pillars” of the European Union, the role played by the Commission and the Parliament in the trigger procedures, that played by non-participant States, the competence of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. As a result of that analysis, the conclusion is drawn that the enhanced co-operation retains interesting potentialities as an integration-friendly mechanism whithin the European Union, save one main negative remark concerning the argued lack of competence of the Court of Justice on the fulfilment of the conditions for the establishment of the enhanced co-operation during its implementation.[...]