The Division of Competences Between the EU and the Member States ─ Reflections on the Past, the Present and the Future

The issue of competence division is of fundamental importance as it reflects the 'power bargain' struck between the Member States and their Union, determining the limits of the authority of the EU as well as the limits of the authority of the Member States. It defines the nature of the EU as a polity and the identity of the Member States. More than six years after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, it is time to take stock of the reforms that were adopted to make the Union's system of division of competences between the EU Member States clearer, more coherent, and better at containing European integration, and to evaluate their success. This book asks whether 'the competence problem' has finally been solved. Given the fundamental importance of this question, this publication will be of interest to a wide audience, from constitutional and substantive EU law scholars to practitioners in the EU institutions and EU legal practice more generally. (Series: Modern Studies in European Law) [Subject: European Law, International Law, EU Law]

Sacha Garben is Professor of EU Law at the College of Europe.Inge Govaere is Professor of European Law, Jean Monnet Chair in EU Legal Studies at Ghent University and Director, Ghent European Law Institute (GELI) as well as Director of the European Legal Studies Department at the College of Europe.