With Luxembourg in mind … the remaking of national policies in the face of ECJ jurisprudence

This article analyses EU member state political responses to ECJ challenges. Faced with high consensus requirements at the European level, member states often have to respond unilaterally and explore how to pursue autonomous regulatory goals in ‘EU-compatible’ ways. Member states' domestic responses to one prominent series of ECJ judgments (Laval, Rüffert, Commission vs Luxembourg) are traced from a Europeanization perspective. The case studies show that, by forging a consensus which includes potential litigants and by building on existing legal precedent, member state governments can preserve significant parts of their original legislation while making it ECJ-proof.