Interpretations and Possible Applications of Subsidiarity in the European Union
Copyright (c) 2023 Dr. Koller Boglárka
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Subsidiarity means that a higher social entity is not entitled to decide and manage what can be done more effectively at lower levels. Subsidiarity protects the freedom of individuals and smaller social units and communities by preventing decisions from always being taken at higher levels, and can therefore contribute to a balance in society. Although the concept is used in a much broader sense in terms of content and discipline, this study provides a framework for a European interpretation, including that of the European Union. The birth of the term in the European Union can be traced back to the Maastricht Treaty, and since then it has in fact been a constant element in Eurocratic jargon. The topicality of the subject, beyond the 30th anniversary of the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, is the political, legal and social discourse on the future of the European Union. In the debates and proposals on the future of the EU, proposals based around subsidiarity have been intensified. After conceptualisation,
this paper provides theoretical interpretations. Finally, it examines the concept of subsidiarity and the possibilities for its application in the debates on the future of the European Union.
Keywords:
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