Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

EU Competence Framework: Conferral, Legal Bases, Division of Powers, Subsidiarity, Proportionality, Implied Powers and Article 352 TFEU

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Practice notes

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The first iteration of this note was prepared by the late Professor Alexander Türk.

The limits of EU competences

The scope of EU competences is defined by the principle of conferral (also called the principle of attributed powers). This principle safeguards against the Union stretching its authority beyond what the Treaties grant. As set out in Article 5(2) of the Treaty on European Union, the Union acts solely within competences bestowed on it by the Member States to achieve the Treaties’ objectives, while competences not granted to the EU remain with the Member States.

A further facet of conferral concerns the division of competences among the EU institutions. Article 13(2) TEU provides that each institution operates only within the powers the Treaties confer upon it.

The fact that the EU holds the capacity to intervene in a given field does not confer general law‑making power on its institutions. They may act only to the extent that specific powers have been attributed to them...

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Darren Harvey

King’s College London

Dr Darren Harvey is a Senior Lecturer in Law and Director of Undergraduate Studies at The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London. Prior to joining King’s, Dr Harvey was an Early Career Fellow in EU law at Edinburgh Law School. He wrote his doctoral thesis on constitutional review by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) at the University of Cambridge. Before writing his thesis, Darren worked as a research assistant to Prof. Thomas Giegerich at the Jean Monnet Chair of European Union Law and European Integration. Darren holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in European Law from the Europa Institut at Saarland University, and an LLB (Hons) from Edinburgh Law School. Darren has published widely on many different areas of EU law. He has taught a wide range of EU law and Public Law courses at both...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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