#EUpriorities: Ensure the EU steers clear of decisions better taken nationally

As promised, here is the first of the cartoons accompanying our reform mandate for the new European Commission:

We believe that the EU must do more than merely pay lip service to the principle of subsidiarity, i.e. that the EU should not meddle in areas that can better be handled nationally (or locally).

The EU needs a dedicated Commissioner for subsidiarity (although we are open to a more catchy name, like "Common Sense Commissioner") who would be explicitly charged with reviewing both new and existing EU laws to ensure they are proportionate, add value, and could not be better handled at the national or local level. Any laws that do not meet these criteria should be scrapped.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans, who has been nominated to the new Commission and who  looks set to land an important post has strong reformist credentials to fill such a role and helped coin the maxim 'national where possible, European where necessary'.  

Our mandate (published in partnership with Open Europe Berlin) received some good media coverage in Germany today, with Die Welt featuring it on the front page of their economics section, along with our calculation that German taxpayers could save €32bn from the package of reforms that we propose:

With Juncker's full Commission line-up expected to be announced tomorrow or Thursday, stay tuned for more of our ideas in the days to come.