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This paper first suggests a methodology to help redefining the distribution of powers within a federation. It uses a test based on the subsidiarity principle and initially proposed by Pelkmans (2008) to discuss the distribution of powers between the Member States of the European Union and this latter. Then an application has been carried out for three competences – direct taxation, higher education and scientific research, and wage setting. It has been suggested that individual taxation should become the primary source of revenue for regions, while corporate income tax should be maintained as a federal competence. Concerning higher education and scientific research, on basis of the Swiss experience it has been concluded that higher education should be a regional competence while advanced education should be within the federal competences when it uses expensive equipments and it is more prone to economies of scale. As regard wage formation, it has been argued in favour of the centralisation of rules so as to avoid harmful competition among regional regulations. Finally, critical considerations about the method introduced and applied have been developed for three issues: the optimal dimension of infrastructures and public services, the asymmetries existing between a « bottom up » and a « top down » process, and the efficiency gains capacity to be a basis for a federation. JEL: H70, H77

This paper first suggests a methodology to help redefining the distribution of powers within a federation. It uses a test based on the subsidiarity principle and initially proposed by Pelkmans (2008) to discuss the distribution of powers between the Member States of the European Union and this latter. Then an application has been carried out for three competences – direct taxation, higher education and scientific research, and wage setting. It has been suggested that individual taxation should become the primary source of revenue for regions, while corporate income tax should be maintained as a federal competence. Concerning higher education and scientific research, on basis of the Swiss experience it has been concluded that higher education should be a regional competence while advanced education should be within the federal competences when it uses expensive equipments and it is more prone to economies of scale. As regard wage formation, it has been argued in favour of the centralisation of rules so as to avoid harmful competition among regional regulations. Finally, critical considerations about the method introduced and applied have been developed for three issues: the optimal dimension of infrastructures and public services, the asymmetries existing between a « bottom up » and a « top down » process, and the efficiency gains capacity to be a basis for a federation. JEL: H70, H77

While national governments are the main actors in innovation policy, we witness a proliferation of challenge-oriented innovation policies both at the subnational and the supranational level. This begs the question about subsidiarity: what innovation policies for societal challenges should be organized at subnational, national and supranational levels? We provide arguments that innovation policies aimed to solve societal challenges, such as climate change or aging, are best pursued at subnational levels given the contested nature of problem identification and the contextual nature of problem-solving. Regional innovation policy, then, should formulate concrete societal goals tailored to the local context, while the transnational context promotes inter-regional learning and provides the complementary policies in the realms of basic research, regulation and taxation. In addition, the supranational level can set overall goals that are made more concrete and operational at the subnational level.

This paper first suggests a methodology to help redefining the distribution of powers within a federation. It uses a test based on the subsidiarity principle and initially proposed by Pelkmans (2008) to discuss the distribution of powers between the Member States of the European Union and this latter. Then an application has been carried out for three competences – direct taxation, higher education and scientific research, and wage setting. It has been suggested that individual taxation should become the primary source of revenue for regions, while corporate income tax should be maintained as a federal competence. Concerning higher education and scientific research, on basis of the Swiss experience it has been concluded that higher education should be a regional competence while advanced education should be within the federal competences when it uses expensive equipments and it is more prone to economies of scale. As regard wage formation, it has been argued in favour of the centralisation of rules so as to avoid harmful competition among regional regulations. Finally, critical considerations about the method introduced and applied have been developed for three issues: the optimal dimension of infrastructures and public services, the asymmetries existing between a « bottom up » and a « top down » process, and the efficiency gains capacity to be a basis for a federation. JEL: H70, H77

This paper first suggests a methodology to help redefining the distribution of powers within a federation. It uses a test based on the subsidiarity principle and initially proposed by Pelkmans (2008) to discuss the distribution of powers between the Member States of the European Union and this latter. Then an application has been carried out for three competences – direct taxation, higher education and scientific research, and wage setting. It has been suggested that individual taxation should become the primary source of revenue for regions, while corporate income tax should be maintained as a federal competence. Concerning higher education and scientific research, on basis of the Swiss experience it has been concluded that higher education should be a regional competence while advanced education should be within the federal competences when it uses expensive equipments and it is more prone to economies of scale. As regard wage formation, it has been argued in favour of the centralisation of rules so as to avoid harmful competition among regional regulations. Finally, critical considerations about the method introduced and applied have been developed for three issues: the optimal dimension of infrastructures and public services, the asymmetries existing between a « bottom up » and a « top down » process, and the efficiency gains capacity to be a basis for a federation. JEL: H70, H77

Defence date: 16 December 2014 ; Examining Board: Professor Bruno De Witte, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Loïc Azoulai, European University Institute; Professor Damian Chalmers, London School of Economics; Professor Thomas Christiansen, Maastricht University. ; This PhD thesis studies the role of national parliaments in the policing of the EU subsidiarity principle. The Treaty of Lisbon enshrines the Early Warning System (EWS) in Protocol No. 2, according to which national parliaments may review Commission proposals for compatibility with the subsidiarity principle expressed in Article 5(3) TEU. On the basis of the number of reasoned opinions submitted, which count as votes, national parliaments may trigger either a 'yellow' or an 'orange' card, each of which entails different consequences for the Commission draft act in question. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the functioning of the EWS and to explore why national parliaments participate in this mechanism. To achieve this task, this thesis analyses the reasoned opinions issued under the EWS. Hence, this thesis firstly conducts a case study of the Commission proposal on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office which triggered a 'yellow card'. This example shows that national parliaments tend to conduct a broad scrutiny of Commission proposals, which includes aspects other than the subsidiarity of the proposal: its legal basis, the competence of the EU to act, its proportionality and its substance. This practice of national parliaments is evaluated according to a textual, structural and functional interpretation of the EU Treaties, and as a result, a narrow subsidiarity test is suggested for the purpose of the EWS. Thereafter, the thesis explores the national procedures of ex ante (EWS) and ex post (action before the ECJ) scrutiny. In addition, national debates are studied in order to analyse the relationship between national legislatives and executives, between parliamentary majorities and opposition, as well as the reflection of regional interests. This detailed study of debates also points to the first reasons for the participation of national parliaments in the EWS: the protection of idiosyncratic national interests and the restriction of EU redistributive policies. Further reasons for national parliaments' participation in the EWS are indicated on the basis of two case studies, dealing with the Monti II regulation (competence), and the Tobacco Products Directive ('delegated legislation'). These suggest that the EWS is used by national parliaments to increase their impact in the EU legislative process. The last case study of this thesis – the 'Women on Boards' proposal – ponders the application of the EWS to 'genuine' fundamental rights proposals, showing that the subsidiarity tests at stake here are focused to a much greater extent on a political willingness to protect universal values, rather than on efficiency. The thesis concludes by discussing whether the EWS enhances the EU's democratic legitimacy and decreases the EU's competence creep, which were the leading ideas behind the introduction of the Protocol No. 2 mechanism. It is pointed out that, although the impact of national parliaments on EU policy-making is uneasy to measure, some of the criticism of national parliaments is taken on board by the EU legislator. Because the 'competence creep' of the EU is rather limited, it also does not demand a great deal of involvement on the part of national parliaments.

Purpose: This paper analyzes the development of the concept of subsidiarity, its relationship with management theories and the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity in the context of local self-government in Poland and Lithuania by conducting comparative research. Design/ methodology/ approach: The research was conducted based on methods of desk research of scientific literature, analysis of documents and their content from the Lithuanian and Polish parliaments' commissions and using comparative approach methods. Findings: The research reveals the essential aspects of the concept of subsidiarity and the extent to which this principle is relevant in the work of the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and Self-Government and Regional Policy Commission of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in shaping the policy of self-government. The study demonstrates that subsidiarity principles are used in practice in a very incoherent way regarding public service regulations. Practical implications: The analysis is relevant, as an implementation of public policy in Lithuania and Poland increasingly calls for the integration of values into politics, which cannot be done without relying on certain principles. Research limitations: The generalizability of the results is limited by the number of parliamentary terms that have been taken into consideration. Originality/ value: The originality of this paper lies within the context in which this study took place—an international comparison of Lithuanian and Polish concepts that is rarely taken into consideration in the scientific literature.

Purpose: This paper analyzes the development of the concept of subsidiarity, its relationship with management theories and the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity in the context of local self-government in Poland and Lithuania by conducting comparative research. Design/ methodology/ approach: The research was conducted based on methods of desk research of scientific literature, analysis of documents and their content from the Lithuanian and Polish parliaments' commissions and using comparative approach methods. Findings: The research reveals the essential aspects of the concept of subsidiarity and the extent to which this principle is relevant in the work of the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and Self-Government and Regional Policy Commission of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in shaping the policy of self-government. The study demonstrates that subsidiarity principles are used in practice in a very incoherent way regarding public service regulations. Practical implications: The analysis is relevant, as an implementation of public policy in Lithuania and Poland increasingly calls for the integration of values into politics, which cannot be done without relying on certain principles. Research limitations: The generalizability of the results is limited by the number of parliamentary terms that have been taken into consideration. Originality/ value: The originality of this paper lies within the context in which this study took place—an international comparison of Lithuanian and Polish concepts that is rarely taken into consideration in the scientific literature.

Purpose: This paper analyzes the development of the concept of subsidiarity, its relationship with management theories and the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity in the context of local self-government in Poland and Lithuania by conducting comparative research. Design/ methodology/ approach: The research was conducted based on methods of desk research of scientific literature, analysis of documents and their content from the Lithuanian and Polish parliaments&rsquo ; commissions and using comparative approach methods. Findings: The research reveals the essential aspects of the concept of subsidiarity and the extent to which this principle is relevant in the work of the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and Self-Government and Regional Policy Commission of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in shaping the policy of self-government. The study demonstrates that subsidiarity principles are used in practice in a very incoherent way regarding public service regulations. Practical implications: The analysis is relevant, as an implementation of public policy in Lithuania and Poland increasingly calls for the integration of values into politics, which cannot be done without relying on certain principles. Research limitations: The generalizability of the results is limited by the number of parliamentary terms that have been taken into consideration. Originality/ value: The originality of this paper lies within the context in which this study took place&mdash ; an international comparison of Lithuanian and Polish concepts that is rarely taken into consideration in the scientific literature.

Purpose: This paper analyzes the development of the concept of subsidiarity, its relationship with management theories and the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity in the context of local self-government in Poland and Lithuania by conducting comparative research. Design/methodology/approach: The research was conducted based on methods of desk research of scientific literature, analysis of documents and their content from the Lithuanian and Polish parliaments' commissions and using comparative approach methods. Findings: The research reveals the essential aspects of the concept of subsidiarity and the extent to which this principle is relevant in the work of the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and Self-Government and Regional Policy Commission of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in shaping the policy of self-government. The study demonstrates that subsidiarity principles are used in practice in a very incoherent way regarding public service regulations. Practical implications: The analysis is relevant, as an implementation of public policy in Lithuania and Poland increasingly calls for the integration of values into politics, which cannot be done without relying on certain principles. Research limitations: The generalizability of the results is limited by the number of parliamentary terms that have been taken into consideration. Originality/value: The originality of this paper lies within the context in which this study took place - an international comparison of Lithuanian and Polish concepts that is rarely taken into consideration in the scientific literature.

This paper analyzes the development of the concept of subsidiarity, its relationship with management theories and the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity in the context of local self-government in Poland and Lithuania by conducting comparative research. Design/ methodology/ approach: The research was conducted based on methods of desk research of scientific literature, analysis of documents and their content from the Lithuanian and Polish parliaments' commissions and using comparative approach methods. Findings: The research reveals the essential aspects of the concept of subsidiarity and the extent to which this principle is relevant in the work of the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and Self-Government and Regional Policy Commission of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in shaping the policy of self-government. The study demonstrates that subsidiarity principles are used in practice in a very incoherent way regarding public service regulations. Practical implications: The analysis is relevant, as an implementation of public policy in Lithuania and Poland increasingly calls for the integration of values into politics, which cannot be done without relying on certain principles. Research limitations: The generalizability of the results is limited by the number of parliamentary terms that have been taken into consideration. Originality/ value: The originality of this paper lies within the context in which this study took place—an international comparison of Lithuanian and Polish concepts that is rarely taken into consideration in the scientific literature.

Purpose: This paper analyzes the development of the concept of subsidiarity, its relationship with management theories and the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity in the context of local self-government in Poland and Lithuania by conducting comparative research. Design/ methodology/ approach: The research was conducted based on methods of desk research of scientific literature, analysis of documents and their content from the Lithuanian and Polish parliaments' commissions and using comparative approach methods. Findings: The research reveals the essential aspects of the concept of subsidiarity and the extent to which this principle is relevant in the work of the Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and Self-Government and Regional Policy Commission of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in shaping the policy of self-government. The study demonstrates that subsidiarity principles are used in practice in a very incoherent way regarding public service regulations. Practical implications: The analysis is relevant, as an implementation of public policy in Lithuania and Poland increasingly calls for the integration of values into politics, which cannot be done without relying on certain principles. Research limitations: The generalizability of the results is limited by the number of parliamentary terms that have been taken into consideration. Originality/ value: The originality of this paper lies within the context in which this study took place—an international comparison of Lithuanian and Polish concepts that is rarely taken into consideration in the scientific literature.