COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS: CONFERENCE LOOKS AT ROLE IN CONTROLLING COMPLIANCE WITH SUBSIDIARITY LAW.

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Article 5 of the EC Treaty states that: "The Community shall act within the limits of the powers conferred upon it by this Treaty and of the objectives assigned to it therein. In areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, the Community shall take action, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the Community. Any action by the Community shall not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of this Treaty".

Article I-9[sz]3 of the draft Constitutional Treaty states that: "under the principle of subsidiarity, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence the Union shall act only if and insofar as the objectives of the intended action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, either at central level or at regional and local level, but can rather, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved at Union level. The Union Institutions shall apply the principle of subsidiarity as laid down in the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, annexed to the Constitution. National Parliaments shall ensure compliance with that principle in accordance with the procedure set out in the Protocol".

Article III-270[sz]3 of the same draft provides that: "The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction (...)in actions brought by the Court of Auditors, by the European Central Bank and by the Committee of the Regions for the purpose of protecting their prerogatives".

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Implicit since the Treaty of Rome, expressly mentioned in the Single Act concerning the environment, the principle of subsidiarity was legally enshrined under the Maastricht Treaty (Article 5 of the EC Treaty) and will become a constitutional principle under Article I-9 para 3 if the Constitution enters into force. The Protocol on subsidiarity provides for a so-called early warning procedure which requires the Commission to consult widely, including "where appropriate" with local and regional authorities, on all legislative projects - except those falling under the exclusive competence of the EU - and to inform national parliaments of all its formal initiatives. If a third of national Parliaments consider that a text breaches the principle of subsidiarity, notably where there is an impact on "regional legislation", the Commission, though at liberty to maintain its proposals, is invited to redraft or even withdraw them. "The Court is considering the latitude available to the Commission and the legislator in view of the constitutional importance accorded to the principle of subsidiarity", said Francis Jacobs, according to whom the multiplication of references to the regional dimension in the Protocol "may give increasing credence to the argument that it is best to legislate at the local level".

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Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality

1. Each institution shall ensure constant respect for the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, as...