A3-0187/94

Resolution on the adaptation of Community legislation to the subsidiarity principle

The European Parliament,

-having regard to Article 3b of the EC Treaty and Article B of the Treaty on European Union,

-having regard to Article 12 of and the preamble to its draft Treaty establishing the European Union, adopted on 14 February 1984,

-having regard to the conclusions of the Presidency issued at the close of the Lisbon, Edinburgh and Brussels European Council meetings,

-having regard to its resolution of 16 September 1993 on the problems of comitology relating to the prospect of the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty,

-having regard to the Interinstitutional Declaration of 25 October 1993 on democracy, transparency and subsidiarity,

-having regard to the Commission report to the European Council on the adaptation of Community legislation to the subsidiarity principle (COM(93)0545 - C3-0529/93),

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights and the opinion of the Committee on Institutional Affairs (A3-0187/94),

A.recalling that, since 1984, it has developed the concept of subsidiarity, stressing that the Community institutions should only be given the powers they require to perform those tasks which they can carry out more effectively than the individual Member States,

B.whereas subsidiarity is a principle based on political pragmatism and aimed at organizing Community activity effectively by bringing it closer to the concerns and aspirations of citizens,

C.whereas the subsidiarity principle is to be seen, as in the past, in the context of an evolving political framework, such as the European integration process, which is developing through the establishment of an ever closer union between the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as close as possible to the people,

D.whereas the subsidiarity principle therefore acts as a catalyst, which should guarantee greater clarity in the future Community legislative process but should under no circumstances be misapplied or misused as a means of protecting the prerogatives of Member States where Community action is in fact required,

A.Implementation of the subsidiarity principle

1.Notes that, although the subsidiarity principle is a rule based on political pragmatism, it appears in an article of the EC Treaty (Article 3b, second paragraph) in the chapter on the principles governing the European Community and has thereby acquired a status equivalent to that of a constitutional provision binding on the institutions and Member States;

2.Recalls that, under the terms of Article 3b, second paragraph, the subsidiarity principle applies solely to areas of shared competence and consequently should not serve as a pretext for calling into question actions which the Community is required to take in certain areas;

3.Recalls that, under the Interinstitutional Declaration of 25 October 1993, the procedures for implementing the principle of subsidiarity in compliance with the 'acquis communautaire' should not call into question the provisions of the Treaties on the institutions' right of initiative or the institutional balance; believes, therefore, in compliance with the principle of legal certainty, that the concept of subsidiarity should not apply to existing Community law, with the exception of measures required to simplify and consolidate it;

4.Considers that the Community institutions should first decide whether the subsidiarity principle prevents the Union from legislating in a particular area, and that the sole criterion in taking this decision should be the achievement of the Union's objectives;

5.Stresses, in this context, that Article 3b, second paragraph, of the EC Treaty contains deliberately vague terms ('sufficiently', 'better achieved', ...), the aim of which is to increase the Community institutions' margin of appreciation and allow adjustments to developments in the European integration process;

6.Believes that disputes concerning the implementation of the subsidiarity principles should be settled at political level on the basis of the Interinstitutional Declaration of 25 October 1993, but does not rule out the possibility that the Court of Justice may be asked to interpret and apply this principle to a specific case in the exercise of its powers, pursuant to Article 164 of the EEC Treaty;

7.Calls on other institutions involved in the legislative process and the Member States likewise to respect the subsidiarity principle, in accordance with the above-mentioned Interinstitutional Declaration, when considering each legislative proposal and to refrain from abusing the principle - by using it as a kind of veto - since the only end result would be completely to debase the principle;

8.Restates the undertaking it has made under Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure, namely that it will examine every legislative proposal in order to ascertain that it complies with the subsidiarity principle, and points to the special responsibility of its Committee on Legal Affairs;

B.Substance of the Commission's report

9.Notes with concern that, in its report (page 4, third paragraph), the Commission congratulates itself on having reduced the number of legislative proposals in 1993 compared to previous years, but fails to show to what extent this decrease has also led to a qualitative increase in the level of Community integration;

10.Notes that, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, the Commission intends to review existing legislation to replace binding legal acts with more flexible legal instruments ('recommendations', 'codes of conduct', 'agreements with the two sides of industry') and points out that the revision of existing legislation must take place within the legislative procedure in force; condemns the Commission text's tendency to opt for the easy way out, in the name of the subsidiarity or proportionality principles, by introducing 'soft law' arrangements and thus precluding strict control of the implementation of Community law by the Member States;

11.Expresses its agreement with the Commission's efforts to simplify and consolidate Community law and encourages the Commission to continue these efforts, but is surprised that these questions have been considered in a Commission document on 'the adaptation of Community legislation to the subsidiarity principle';

12.Notes that in 1993 the Commission withdrew some 150 proposals which it considered 'technically outdated or politically obsolete' and that it does not rule out announcing further withdrawals; reminds the Commission that any such decisions to amend or withdraw proposals must comply scrupulously with the provisions of the Treaties;

13.Recognizes, however, the Commission's right, as an expression of its right of initiative, to withdraw proposals already submitted where it thinks fit to do so, but only, as has been the practice in the past, following consultation of Parliament or at the latter's request;

14.Endorses the Commission's view that the real answer to the problem of complex rules lies in the introduction of a hierarchy of legislative acts, to be examined, as required by the Treaty on European Union, at the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference, and therefore calls for its work and observations on the subject to be taken into consideration;

15.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the parliaments of the Member States, the Council, the governments of the Member States, the Committee of the Regions, the Court of Justice and the European Council.