COMPETENCES OF THE EU
Exercise of the Union’s competences by a limited number of Member States: the enhanced co-operation procedure
The possibility for some Member States to establish closer co-operation between themselves, through the Community institutions and procedures, had been introduced by the ToA, and is known as “enhanced co-operation”. The IGC, revising the ToA, decided that the conditions triggering enhanced co-operation needed substantial amendment. The ToA limited the use of enhanced co-operation to matters dealt with in Pillar 1 and in Pillar 3 (matters concerning police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters), imposed strict conditions for its use, and gave the right of veto to every Member State, even if that Member State did not wish to participate. Under the ToA the procedure was never used. The ToN profoundly revised the enhanced co-operation procedure in order to make it more attractive to Member States. The ToL has further reformed the procedure. Provisions relevant to enhanced co-operation are contained in Title IV of the TEU and Title III of Part Six of the TFEU.
State of the Union 2013 + MEP statements (European Parliament plenary session, 11 Sep 2013)
The European Parliament
(b) Parliamentary powers
When the 1951 Paris Treaty set up the European Parliament, its sole function was to exercise “supervisory powers”.24 Parliament was indeed a passive onlooker on the decision-making process within the first Community.
The idea of European Union is as old as the European idea of the sovereign State.1 Yet the spectacular rise of the latter overshadowed the idea of European Union for centuries.