LORDS

The principle of subsidiarity

Action should only be taken at EU level when it can achieve the sought-after objectives better than action at national or regional level. For example, EU-level action might be more effective for reasons of scale, or because it may be more efficient to have one set of laws, rather than 27, particularly when companies are trading across borders. This concept is known as the principle of subsidiarity.

National parliaments' powers

What powers?

The principle of subsidiarity is enshrined in EU law through Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon came into force and gave national parliaments new powers to raise concerns about whether proposals for EU laws complied with the principle. These powers are known as the 'yellow and orange card' procedures. They are set out in Protocol 2 of the Treaty of Lisbon (PDF PDF 91 KB).

In essence, national parliaments are now empowered to issue Reasoned Opinions when they consider that a proposal breaches the subsidiarity principle. These Reasoned Opinions must be issued within 8 weeks of the proposal being published. The EU institutions are then obliged to take these Reasoned Opinions into account.

How does the procedure work?

A Reasoned Opinion counts as a 'vote'. Each Member State is given two votes. For bicameral countries, such as the UK, this means that each chamber has one vote, but in unicameral systems the chamber holds both votes. If one-third or more of the votes are cast against a specific proposal (18 votes), a 'yellow card' is played, and the proposal must be reviewed. A decision will then have to be made about whether the proposal is maintained, amended, or withdrawn entirely.

What happens afterwards?

The threshold for a 'yellow card' was reached for the first time in May 2012 on a proposed Regulation seeking to balance the right to strike with the rules on the internal market, also known as 'Monti II' (Proposal for a Council Regulation on the exercise of the right to take collective action within the context of the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services). In September 2012, the European Commission withdrew the proposal, in recognition of the degree of opposition amongst Member States and in the European Parliament.

House of Lords' Reasoned Opinions

The House of Lords did not issue a Reasoned Opinion on the 'Monti II' proposal. However, the House has so far issued five Reasoned Opinions, most recently on a proposal for an EU Fund for Aid for the Most Deprived and on a proposal for EU-wide quotas for gender on boards. 

Find out more

You can find out more about the subsidiarity principle, how it is operated in the House of Lords, and the Reasoned Opinions that the House of Lords has issued below.

Read more about the subsidiarity principle and how the Lords EU Select Committee applies it (PDF PDF 93 KB).

Read more about how the Committee works to meet the eight-week deadline.

Read more about the Committee's potential subsidiarity concerns and the Reasoned Opinions of the House of Lords: