Comment & Debate
“Treaty of Lisbon. The Treaty at a glance”. Europa. – A greater involvement of national parliaments: national parliaments will have greater opportunities to be involved in the work of the EU, in particular thanks to a new mechanism to monitor that the Union only acts where results can be better attained at EU level (subsidiarity). Together with the strengthened role for the European Parliament, it will enhance democracy and increase legitimacy in the functioning of the Union.
“Treaty of Lisbon. Questions and Answers”. Europea.eu – Does the Treaty of Lisbon increase the number of decisions taken in “Brussels”?
No. The Treaty will be a basis for a more decentralized and transparent approach to implementing EU policies to help ensure that decisions are taken as close as possible to the citizen. It brings the local and regional dimension into the EU legal framework and states that the Union must respect the national identities of Member States, inherent in their fundamental structures, including regional and local self-government. The Treaty will just streamline the distribution of powers between the Union and the Member States by saying who does what. There will be fewer grey areas to cause confusion and uncertainty in the future.