President Juncker asked the Task Force of wise men – and they were only men – to consider 3 questions
a. How to better apply the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality in the work of the Union’s Institutions, notably regarding the preparation and implementation of Union legislation and policies.
b. The identification of any policy areas where, over time, decision-making and/or implementation could be re-delegated in whole or in part or definitively returned to the Member States.
c. The identification of ways to better involve regional and local authorities in the preparation and the follow-up of Union policies.
3 Takeaways
First, the Task Force rejected the idea that any policy area that could be re-delegated. This is amazing. Out of all the areas that the European Commission does, not one area in their view could be better at the national, regional or local level. I know more than a few files that are well deserving of repatriation back home, kept alive at the EU level by the strangest baptist-bootlegger coalitions. Perhaps, the testosterone induced by power from dealing with so many laws is too addictive. The task force could not face the prospect of handing power back, let alone giving it up.
Second, the report is littered throughout with references to the role of ‘regional Parliaments, and local and regional authourities’. It reads as if they did not realise they are in fact very special stakeholders, whose voice should be heard. In their evidence, they express concern that the public consultation process ignores them. I sense reading their evidence and the report this is due to two reasons. First, their voice is not heard in public consultations because they don’t make many submissions. It’s hard to make your voice heard if you are silent. Second, whilst you’d think they’d have their voice heard loud and clear in the Committee of Regions, a lot of those ‘regional and local authourities’ are not happy with the Committee.
Third, the most useful section is the new guidance that, if applied, will require new proposals to pass before adoption. This ‘model grid to assess subsidiarity and proportionality through the policy cycle’ should, if implemented, become a powerful administrative instrument.
The new European Commission will face a challenging portfolio, with defence, security and migration stuck central stage. Delivering on climate change and innovation will be core ambitions. With these new challenges, less will need to be done better. Issues will need to be dropped.
9 Recommendations
Task Force Recommendation 1
A common method (“assessment grid”) should be used by the Union’s institutions and bodies and by national and regional Parliaments to assess issues linked to the principles of subsidiarity (including EU added value), proportionality and the legal basis of new and existing legislation.
This assessment method should capture the criteria contained in the Protocol on subsidiarity and proportionality originally attached to the Amsterdam Treaty and relevant jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice. A proposed model assessment grid is annexed to this report.
During the legislative process, the European Parliament and the Council should systematically review the subsidiarity and proportionality of draft legislation and the amendments they make using the common method. They should take full account of the Commission’s assessment presented in its proposals as well as the (reasoned) opinions of national Parliaments and the European Committee of the Regions.
Task Force Recommendation 2
The Commission should apply flexibly the Treaty-based 8 weeks deadline for national Parliaments to submit their reasoned opinions.
This flexibility should take account of common holiday periods and recess periods, while allowing the Commission to respond as far as possible, within 8 weeks of receiving each opinion.
The Commission should reflect in an appropriate way the reasoned opinions it receives from national Parliaments and feed-back it receives from regional Parliaments with legislative powers in its annual report on subsidiarity and proportionality. It should also make available to the co-legislators, in a comprehensive and timely manner, information about proposals where significant concerns have been raised in respect of subsidiarity.
Task Force Recommendation 3 (Treaty Change)
Protocol No. 2 TEU/TFEU should be revised when the opportunity arises to allow national Parliaments 12 weeks to prepare and submit their reasoned opinions and to express fully their views about subsidiarity, proportionality and the legal basis (conferral) of the proposed legislation. National Parliaments should consult regional Parliaments with legislative powers where their competences under national law are concerned by the proposal for EU legislation.
Task Force Recommendation 4
Together with national Parliaments and the European Committee of the Regions, the Commission should raise the awareness of national, local and regional authorities of the opportunities they have to contribute to policymaking at an early stage.
The Commission should involve local and regional authorities fully in its consultation processes taking into account their specific role in implementing Union legislation. It should promote the participation of local and regional authorities by appropriate design of questionnaires and providing greater feedback and visibility to the views of local and regional authorities in its impact assessments, proposals and feedback transmitted to the co-legislators.
Member States should follow the European Commission’s guidance and engage meaningfully with local and regional authorities when preparing their national reform programmes and designing and implementing structural reforms as part of the European Semester to improve ownership and implementation of these reforms.
Task Force Recommendation 5
The Commission should ensure that its impact assessments and evaluations systematically consider territorial impacts and assess them
where they are significant for local and regional authorities. Local and regional authorities should help to identify such potential impacts in their consultation responses and feedback on roadmaps.
The Commission should revise its Better Regulation Guidelines and Toolbox accordingly and address issues linked to the implementation and EU added value of legislation, and to ensure greater visibility of the Commission’s assessments of subsidiarity, proportionality and relevant territorial impacts in its proposals and accompanying explanatory memoranda.
Task Force Recommendation 6
The European Parliament and the Council should use consistently the subsidiarity grid during their negotiations to promote a culture of better awareness of issues relevant for local and regional authorities.
The Commission should highlight to the co- legislators any views it receives from local and regional authorities in the scrutiny period following adoption of its proposals.
Member States’ governments and national Parliaments should call on the views and expertise of local and regional authorities at the start of the legislative procedure. The Task Force invites the EU’s co-legislators to consider inviting representatives of local and regional authorities to their meetings or hosting hearings and events where this is appropriate.
Task Force Recommendation 7
Regional and national Parliaments should explore how to link more effectively their respective platforms for sharing information (REGPEX and IPEX26) to ensure that the legislative procedure and the subsidiarity control mechanism reflect better their concerns.
Task Force Recommendation 8
The Commission should develop a mechanism to identify and evaluate legislation from the perspective of subsidiarity, proportionality, simplification, legislative density and the role of local and regional authorities. This could build on the REFIT Programme and Platform.
In general, the experiences of local and regional authorities and their networks should be fully taken into account when EU legislation is monitored and evaluated. The Committee of the Regions should implement a new pilot network of regional hubs to support reviews of policy implementation.
Task Force Recommendation 9
The next Commission, with the European Parliament and the Council, should reflect on re- balancing its work in some policy areas towards delivering more effective implementation rather than initiating new legislation in areas where the existing body of legislation is mature and/or has recently been substantially revised.