Shared and Supporting EU-Member States' Policies

As we know, cooperation between the EU member states covers many, but not all, political areas. Areas of cooperation include trade, economic policy, agriculture and the environment but not, for example, the planning of health care, school education or housing policy. What the Union is empowered to decide is set out in the treaties, which form the basis of all EU cooperation. Thus, matters not dealt with in the treaties cannot be determined. In this impact, the EU institutions have different degrees of influence over different matters. This is known as the EU’s different competencies. These are often divided into three categories: exclusive competency is the level that gives the EU the most influence. In these matters, the EU alone has the power to legislate, which means that the individual member states have transferred their right to enact laws to the Union. This category includes the customs union and commercial policy in relation to non-EU countries, the conservation of marine biological resources and monetary policy for the member states that have adopted the euro. Shared competency applies to most areas mentioned in the treaties. In these areas the Union and the individual member states have the power to legislate. However, member states may only legislate if there is no act of Community law that regulates the same issue and only on condition that they respect the Union’s basic values, such as non-discrimination. Areas of shared competency include agriculture and fisheries, freedom of movement within the single market, transport, the environment, social policy, energy, police cooperation and justice. But, supporting competency means that the EU is not empowered to legislate. In these areas, the EU Institutions can only adopt financial aid schemes and encourage member states to take appropriate measures. The EU has supporting competency in areas such as employment, culture, human health, education and research. But, in details-more important shared and supporting EU-Member states’ policies are fisheries policy, environmental policy and, also human health policy. The main factors of these policies are revised also in this essay. …