ABSTRACT
The prominent place given to the principle of subsidiarity in the Maastricht Treaty reveals widespread concerns about the accumulation of regulatory powers in Brussels, but also raises several theoretically interesting questions. First, how is over-regulation at the European level possible, given that national governments are strongly represented at every stage of the policy-making process? Again, member states strive to preserve the greatest possible degree of sovereignty and policy-making autonomy, as shown for example by their stubborn resistance to Community intervention in areas such as macroeconomic policy and indirect taxation. Why, then, have they accepted many regulatory measures not foreseen by the founding treaty and not strictly necessary for the proper functioning of the common market? Finally, concerning the quality rather than the quantity of Community regulations: how is innovation at all possible in a system where the formal rights of initiative of the Commission, as well as its executive functions, seem to be so tightly controlled?
