Abstract
Already in 1992 the principle of subsidiarity was introduced into the Maastricht Treaty. However, the Court of Justice of the European Union has, so far, been surprisingly reluctant in applying the principle.
For this reason experts have called the principle of subsidiarity a toothless instrument. The Lisbon Treaty has significantly strengthened the position of national parliaments with regard to the principle of subsidiarity.
The new alarm bell system ("yellow card" and "orange card") will force EU bodies to take the criteria of subsidiarity into account more willingly. Maybe in the future, stronger political control of the principle of subsidiarity will also have a positive effect on the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice in subsidiarity matters.