Taricco and Sons: a ‘dangerous’ exercise of judicial cooperation?

The long-awaited order of the Italian Constitutional Court in the Taricco case has renewed attention to the problem of fostering European integration while safeguarding constitutional pluralism. By referring a preliminary question on the interpretation of the judgment handed down by the Court of Justice in September 2015, the Italian Constitutional Court has taken a last resort cooperative step. This way, the Italian Constitutional Court has refrained from enforcing the counter-limits doctrine, that would have prevented ordinary courts in Italy from applying the principle of legality in accordance with the decision of the Court of Justice, and ultimately avoided a frontal constitutional clash.