Subsidiarity, national Parliaments and the Lisbon Treaty: thirty-third report of session 2007-08 report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

House of Commons papers 563 2007-08

Corporate Author:: Great Britain Parliament House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee
Author:: Michael Connarty (chairman)
Publisher:: TSO (The Stationery Office)

The Lisbon Treaty contains provisions which are intended to "encourage greater involvement of national parliaments in the activities of the European Union and to enhance their ability to express their views on draft legislative acts .. as well as on other matters which may be of particular interest to them". This report examines these provisions. The referendum on the Treaty in the Republic of Ireland took place during the course of the inquiry. The "no" vote in Ireland raised the question of whether to continue: it was decided to do so for two main reasons: the first is that, irrespective of the Lisbon Treaty, the principle of subsidiarity will remain an important part of EU and Community law; and the second is that the UK will retain its right to decide whether to opt into European legislation on visas, asylum and immigration under Title IV of the present EC treaty. The conclusions on the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty on subsidiarity include: the substance of the subsidiarity Article in the Lisbon Treaty is the same in its effect as the existing Article in the EC Treaty; examination of EU proposals for compliance with the principle of subsidiarity is a long-established and fundamental part of the scrutiny process of the European Scrutiny Committee of the House of Commons; whether a proposal does or does not comply is a matter of political judgement and is unlikely to be capable of an entirely objective assessment.

Extent	[2], 27, [2], Ev 43p.	ISBN	9780215523853
Size	N/A	Price	£14.50
Binding	Paperback	Published	21 Oct 2008
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