ECJ says EU states must change gender of citizens even if nat'l laws forbid it

brusselssignal.eu

12 points·slater··4 comments

Are countries within the EU sovereign, or is the EU sovereign? This is a sincere question. I googled for the official answer, which is that member countries are sovereign, but in terms of realpolitik?

> Are countries within the EU sovereign, or is the EU sovereign?

They’re both sovereign. When a king signs a treaty binding them in some way, they give up some sovereignty. But they don’t usually cease being sovereign.

The EU can punish or withhold benefits at will from misbehaving states. Sovereignty isn't the issue when you are locked onto the teat with superglue; if the cow witholds that precious milk you will starve, sovereign or not.

I wouldn't worry about this. EU nations have been ignoring the ECJ decisions left right and center. Including decisions about core treaties.

Free movement of persons? Not on French borders. Correct taxation? Not in the Netherlands. Rights of children in Youth Services? Not in Denmark, thank you very much. Fair spreading of immigrants? Is there a single EU country respecting that treaty? Maximum occupancy standards in prisons? Same.

You see, an ECJ "victory" does not give any non-theoretical rights to the victors. You cannot demand the decision be executed. You cannot demand damages if the court goes your way and the country refuses to implement the decision. One might ask "then what's the point of laws in the EU?". You could ask that about a lot of EU systems ...

This isn't like the US supreme court.

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