Competences
Questions to be answered today are:
1.Which competences the European Union does have?
2.In what areas does the European Union have competences?
3.What is the character and division of these competences?
4.What was changed by the Lisbon Treaty
Task allocation
• Who governs?
• Policy: a plan of action adopted by a person or organisation
• Who doeas what?
– Setting foreign policy
– Speed limits
– Trade policy
• Typical levels:
– Local
– Regional
– National
– EU
Task allocation and federalism
• Latin: foedus = covenant
• = political concept with shared power to
govern
• EU has many characteristics of federalism
Competences: introduction
• Article 3 TEU: „The Union shall pursue its objectives by appropriate
means commensurate with the competences which are conferred
upon it in the Treaties:
• Article 5 TEU “1. The limits of Union competences are governed by
the principle of conferral … Under the principle of conferral, the
Union shall act only within the limits of the competences conferred
upon it by the Member States in the Treaties to attain the
objectives set out therein. Competences not conferred upon the
Union in the Treaties remain with the Member States. ”
• Compare with former EU – 3 pillar structure
– 1st pillar – EC/EU competency
– 2nd and 3rd pillar – were generally national competencies (basically
members pursue cooperation but do not transfer sovereignty to EU.
Principle of subsidiarity
• Art. 5 TEU: the EU may only act where action of individual
Member states is insufficient
• Legal and political dimension
• Various criteria to explain its content:
1. The action must be necessary because actions of individuals
or member-state governments alone will not achieve the
objectives of the action
2. The action must bring added value over and above what could
be achieved by individual or member-state government action
alone
3. Decisions should be taken as closely as possible to the citizen
4. The action should secure greater freedoms for the individual
Principle of proportionality
• = the Union shall not go beyond what is
necessary to achieve the objectives of the
Treaties.
Categories of EU competence
• The distribution of powers between the European
Union and its Member States makes a distinction
between three different types of competence:
– exclusive Union powers (the Member States have
irrevocably relinquished all possibility of taking
action);
– shared powers (the most common case);
– supporting powers or areas of supporting action (the
Union's sole task is to coordinate and encourage
action by the Member States).
Exclusive competences
• = only the Union may legislate and adopt legally
binding acts
• following areas:
1.customs union;
2.the establishing of the competition rules necessary for the
functioning of the internal market;
3.monetary policy for the Member States whose currency is
the euro;
4.the conservation of marine biological resources under the
common fisheries policy;
5.common commercial policy.
6.the conclusion of some international agreements
Shared (joint) competence
• COMMISSION v UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
• …
• Directive 76/756/EEC on the approximation of the laws of
the Member States relating to the installation of lighting
and light-signalling devices on motor vehicles, as amended
by Directive 83/276, is exhaustive and motor vehicles
complying with the technical requirements laid down
therein must be able to move freely within the common
market. A Member State cannot therefore unilaterally
require manufacturers who have complied with those
requirements to comply with a requirement not provided
for by this directive.
• …
Areas of shared competences
• internal market;
• social policy, for the aspects defined in this
Treaty;
• economic, social and territorial cohesion;
• agriculture and fisheries, excluding the
conservation of marine biological resources;
• environment;
• consumer protection;
• transport;
• trans-European networks;
supporting competences
1.protection and improvement of human health;
2.industry;
3.culture;
4.tourism;
5.education and sport;
6.administrative
Express and implied powers
• Most powers are expressly mentioned in Treaties (express powers)
• Some, however, not – implied powers
• IP = the EU is competent to enter into international agreements if it is entitled to
legislate on this particular issue internally
• ERTA JUDGMENT : … The Community enjoys the capacity to establish contractual
links with third countries over the whole field of objectives defined by the Treaty.
This authority arises not only from an express conferment by the treaty, but may
equally flow from other provisions of the Treaty and from measures adopted,
within the framework of those provisions, by the Community institutions.
• In particular, each time the Community, with a view to implementing a common
policy envisaged by the Treaty, adopts provisions laying down common rules,
whatever form they may take, the Member States no longer have the right, acting
individually or even collectively, to undertake obligations with third countries which
affect those rules or alter their scope.
• With regard to the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty, the system of
internal Community measures may not be separated from that of external relations
…
Subsidiary powers
• The EU cannot cover all necessary areas -> subsidiary
powers (see Art. 352 TFEU)
• SP = the Community's powers can be adjusted to the
objectives laid down by the Treaty when the latter has not
provided the powers of action necessary to attain them
• SP are possible only if:
– the action envisaged is "necessary to attain one of the
objectives of the Union";
– no provision in the Treaty provides for action to attain the
objective.
• SP - cannot in any circumstances be used as a basis for
extending the areas of competence of the Union
Lisbon Treaty
• LT expressly lists areas of shared, exclusive and supporting
competence
• Exclusive c. = competition rules within the internal market, the
customs union, common commercial policy, monetary policy for
Euro countries, the conservation of marine biological resources
under the common fishing policy and - under certain circumstances
- the conclusion of international agreements.
• Shared c. = competition rules within the internal market; the Area
of Freedom, Security and Justice; agriculture and fisheries;
transport; trans-European networks; energy; social policy;
Economic, social and territorial cohesion; the environment; public
health; and consumer protection, Research, technological
development and space
Member States’ exclusive competence
– the EU with supporting role
• Protection and improvement of human
healthcare
• Industry
• Culture
• Tourism
• Education, professional training, youth and
sport
• Civil protection
• Administrative co-operation.
Coordination competences
• Economic policies
• Foreign and security policy
• No significant change
Find „7“ differences 
• Article 352 (ex Article 308 TEC): 1. If action by the Union should
prove necessary, within the framework of the policies defined in the
Treaties, to attain one of the objectives set out in the Treaties, and
the Treaties have not provided the necessary powers, the Council,
acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after
obtaining the consent of the European Parliament, shall adopt the
appropriate measures. Where the measures in question are adopted
by the Council in accordance with a special legislative procedure, it
shall also act unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and
after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament.
• Article 308 TEC: If action by the Community should prove necessary
to attain, in the course of the operation of the common market, one
of the objectives of the Community, and this Treaty has not provided
the necessary powers, the Council shall, acting unanimously on a
proposal from the Commission an´d after consulting the European
Parliament, take the appropriate measures.
conclusion
• As we have seen already, the European Union is in many aspects unique international organization.
It has a sovereignty of its own and has law-making powers in a number of areas. These powers
were conferred upon it by Member States by both Treaties. This Treaties, thus the EU law
determines the fields the Union governs;
• There are two main variety of Union powers – exclusive and shared competences;
• Where the Union has the exclusive competence to act the Member States are excluded from lawmaking.
Only a small number of Union competence are exclusive;
• Most Union competences are shared. Where the Union has a shared competence the Member
States are allowed to adopt if it is not in conflict with the Community rules. The Member state law
is pre-empt only if the Union has already exercised its law-making power;
• The Union has also a general power to legislate in any field related to the internal market in so far
as it is necessary to attain its objectives laid down by Treaties. In such case the Council must always
act unanimously;
• In exercising its competences the Union is limited by principles of proportionality and subsidiarity;
• According to the principle of subsidiarity the Union may act only if the objective cannot be better
attained on a lower (state or municipal) level;
• According to the principle of proportionality the Union must not go beyond what is necessary to
achieve the objectives of both Treaties;
• Principle of proportionality applies limits exercise of both shared and exclusive competences. The
principle of subsidiarity limits only the exercise of shared competences.