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Collective Identity as a Legal Limit to European Integration in Areas of Core State Powers

To what extent does collective identity, as expressed by national constitutions, provide a legal limit to (creeping) European integration in areas of core state powers? This article contrasts the approaches by the EU and national legal orders. While EU law does not allow any area to be a priori carved out of its scope of application, certain national courts consider they can disapply EU law where it too deeply affects areas that are considered core to the state, in order to guarantee sufficient space for national self‐determination so as to sustain national collective identity. Article 4(2) TEU, although touted as a platform to mediate constitutional conflict about the limits of EU powers, has made little difference in this respect. At the same time, the discord should not be overstated: national actors that credibly invoke legitimate interests within the framework of EU law will often find these recognized by the CJEU.