"Provisions primarily of a fiscal nature": time to dispel doubts

The concept of “provisions primarily of a fiscal nature” is not defined in the EU Treaties. This paper aims at providing a potential new interpretation of Article 192(2)(a) TFEU answering the following question: can certain fiscal measures that have primarily regulatory goals be introduced via the ordinary legislative procedure in Article 192(1) TFEU? In doing so, the author will first analyse why Article 192(2)(a) TFEU was introduced to provide an exception to paragraph 1. Secondly, she will investigate the concepts of “fiscal nature” and “primarily” and assess whether the different language versions of the TFEU dispel doubts on their meanings or increase the level of uncertainty. In light of this scrutiny, she will propose a potential new interpretation and determine if certain taxes could be adopted based on Article 192(1) TFEU.