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The principle of conferral is a fundamental principle of
European Union law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...
. According to this principle, the EU is a union of its
member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign s ...
, and all its competences are voluntarily conferred on it by its member states. The Union has no competences by right, and thus any areas of policy not explicitly agreed in treaties by all member states remain the domain of the member states. This indicates that the member states have the right to deal with all matters that fall outside the agreements of the
Treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...
and the EU can only act within the conferred competences defined by the Member States in the treaties. This principle has always underpinned the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, but it was explicitly specified for the first time in the proposed and rejected
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an un ratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European ...
. The principle carried over into its replacement, the
Treaty on European Union The Treaty on European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU form the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's ...
. It is spelled out fully in Articles 4 and 5 Wikisource:Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union/Title I: Common Provisions#Article 5 of the TEU. Both Articles make clear that the Union acts only within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by the Member States, but then state clearly that "Competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the Member States." Article 4(1) repeats this and goes on to stipulate that "The Union shall respect the equality of Member States before the Treaties as well as their national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional, inclusive of regional and local self-government. It shall respect their essential State functions, including ensuring the territorial integrity of the State, maintaining law and order and safeguarding national security. In particular, national security remains the sole responsibility of each Member State." In many areas the Union has shared competence with the Member States. Once the Union has passed legislation in these fields competence moves to the Union.


See also

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Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Tenth Amendment (Amendment X) to the United States Constitution, a part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791. It expresses the principle of federalism, also known as states' rights, by stating that the federal govern ...
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Devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...
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Subsidiarity Subsidiarity is a principle of social organization that holds that social and political issues should be dealt with at the most immediate or local level that is consistent with their resolution. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines subsidi ...


References

European Union constitutional law Legal doctrines and principles {{Law-stub