The Uneven Legal Push for Europe – Questioning Variation When National Courts Go to Europe

National courts have been key players in the legal push forEurope, though notably to varying degrees. This paper examinesthe persisting variations in the referral rates of nationalcourts and the underlying causal factors, aiming to better understandwhy some member states' courts have been more reluctant to joinin the legal push for Europe. By using econometric methods,it challenges the modified neofunctionalist argument that theextent of intra-EC trade explains the referral practice of theindividual member states. Majoritarian democracy is hypothesizedas a causal factor in the low referral rates for some of theEU member states. Key characteristics of majoritarian democracyversus constitutional democracy are outlined and the formeris further detailed by means of two case studies: Denmark andthe UK. Finally, a panel data analysis is conducted and findsevidence of a negative impact of majoritarian democracy on thenumber of referrals. The paper concludes that, owing to theuneven legal push for Europe, some member states and their citizensremain at arms' length from the legal integration process -and, in consequence, from the full impact of European integration.