COMMONS

Subsidiarity: Reasoned Opinions

What is subsidiarity?

Subsidiarity is the principle that action at Union level should "add value" and be undertaken only where the objectives cannot be delivered by action at local, national or regional level.  Each draft legislative act must contain a statement attesting to its compliance with the principle of subsidiarity.

Under Protocol 2, Article 6 of the Lisbon Treaty, national parliaments may raise an objection, referred to as a "reasoned opinion" if they do not believe the draft proposal is compliant with the principle of subsidiarity. 

 

Reasoned Opinions

The House of Commons has issued reasoned opinion on the following proposals:

  1. Investor-Compensation Schemes, 25 October 2010
  2. CCCTB, 11 May 2011
  3. Prudential Requirements for Credit Institutions, 9 November 2011 
  4. Common European Sales Law, 23 November 2011
  5. Public Procurement and Procurement by Public Entities, 6 March 2012
  6. The posting of workers and the right to take collective action, 22 May 2012 
  7. Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, 18 December 2012
  8. Gender balance on corporate boards, 7 January 2013
  9. Reducing the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks, 21 May 2013

 

Commission Responses

  1. Investor-Compensation Schemes
  2. Commission response on CCCTB (PDF PDF 321 KB)
  3. Prudential requirements for credit institutions
  4. Common European Sales Law
  5. Public Procurement and Procurement by Public Entities
  6. The posting of workers and the right to take collective action
  7. Fund for European aid to the most deprived (PDF PDF 113 KB)
  8. Gender balance on corporate boards

 

The Committee’s review of the Commission’s replies to House of Commons Reasoned Opinions

The Chair wrote, on behalf of the Committee to Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission on 26 June 2013 about the responses the Committee had received to date to the Reasoned Opinions submitted on behalf of the House of Commons. 

Other communication with the European Institutions

Where the reasoned opinion deadline has passed, but the House has concerns about issues of subsidiarity, it may choose to write to the heads of the European Institutions. The Committee has written to the Institutions with concerns on the following proposals.


Seasonal Workers, 13 October 2010 (PDF PDF 144 KB)
Financial Workers, 13 October 2010 (PDF PDF 82 KB)