The Reformulation of the Questions Referred to the CJEU for a Preliminary Ruling in Direct Taxation: Towards a Constructive Cooperation Model

Abstract

This article appraises the role of the reformulation of preliminary rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’ or ‘the Court’) in the field of direct taxation. The few articles on this matter written mainly by French scholars adopt a descriptive/analytical approach. As such, they enumerate the rulings whereby the Court alters the original questions posed by the national court by limiting or widening the scope of the reply, replacing a question of interpretation of EU law into one of validity or vice versa, etc. However, this contribution makes an attempt to go beyond this analytical approach in order to construe a normative model which shed light on the current interplay between national courts and the CJEU. By analysing several CJEU decisions in the field of direct taxation, my article purports to demonstrate that reformulating the questions referred is not neutral. Due to the lack of positive integration in this area, it will be argued that the reformulation constitutes a technique that enables the Court to foster its own agenda of integration at the peak of the European Judicial Power.