Delegation Is a Matter of Confidence: The new EU delegation system under the Treaty of Lisbon

This contribution discusses the new delegation system of the Treaty of Lisbon (Articles 290 and 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)) and the current debate between the EU institutions on the control over delegated legislation and on the future of comitology.

The European Parliament (EP) opposes the strategy of the European Commission to involve the Council in some way or in some respect in delegated legislation other than via the mechanism that the Lisbon Treaty provides. Parliament wants comitology to end once and for all, or so it seems. Whether or not they are able to make the Commission and Council change course remains to be seen. By way of a preliminary conclusion, the contribution argues that - whatever the outcome of the current debate - delegation relies and needs to rely on confidence between the delegating authority and the delegate.