Why do some member states infringe EU law more than others? Based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis reported here, is not because of administrative capacity limitations, but because of political context, policy changes and deliberate opposition by member governments in order to maintain their independence. States in turn, are motivated by domestic politics to seek to avoid implementing EU law. Additionally, I find that richer countries violate the law more often than poorer countries. Further, member states infringe more than others because of a high number of institutional and coalitional veto players. These results suggest that member states are in the EU because the EU serves their national interest over collective ones. Finally, these results suggest new hypothesis. Member states that have a high level of public discontent with the EU are unlikely to tolerate the political costs of implementing EU legislation.