Scrutiny of the Principle of Subsidiarity in the Parliament of the Czech Republic

Abstract

Parliaments of EU member states have become involved in the monitoring and scrutiny of EU affairs. The Parliament of the Czech Republic is no exception. This paper attempts to summarize and evaluate the practice of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in the scrutiny of draft EU legislative acts regarding their compliance with the principle of subsidiarity. First it briefly describes the legal basis, procedures and practice of the Parliament’s participation in EU affairs. Then it focuses on the implementation in the Czech Republic of Protocol (No. 2) on the Application of the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality, annexed to the EU Treaties. The main portion of the paper is dedicated to the parliamentary procedures regarding the ‘subsidiarity check’ in both chambers and the arguments employed by the chambers in the reasoned opinions they have adopted so far.

Keywords: Principle of subsidiarity, national parliaments, rules of procedure, reasoned opinion, Lisbon Treaty