EU compliance mechanisms: the interaction between the infringement procedures, IMS, SOLVIT and EU-Pilot

This article investigates the role of alternative compliance mechanisms in the EU: SOLVIT, EU-Pilot and the Internal Market Scoreboard. These mechanisms are theoretically meant as complementary and practical, cost-reducing alternatives to the EU infringement procedures and national court procedures. The mechanisms aim to, through peer pressure and informal contacts, prevent citizens and businesses that encounter problems with the application of EU law from having to start time-consuming and costly court procedures. Moreover, they serve to correct infringements of EU law at an early stage without recourse to official infringement procedures by the Commission. This article discusses how alternative problem-solving mechanisms work in practice, how they fit in the EU legal system and what, if any, influence they have on the official EU infringement procedures. It will be shown how the existence of such alternative mechanisms leads to an increase in the level of absolute compliance with EU law.