Mutual Trust and Fundamental Rights: a Balancing Act

Mutual trust implies the EU Member States trusting one another in complying with their obligations under EU law. It is widely considered to be vital to, amongst others, the EU system distributing responsibility for asylum applications. However, this presumption is often rebutted based on fundamental rights. Especially in asylum law, a tension exists between the fundamental rights of individuals and the proper functioning of the asylum system. In order to better understand the principle of mutual trust in light of those clashing interests, this paper delves deeper into the way fundamental rights act and should act as a safety valve to mutual trust.