‘The European Commission is getting more political than its predecessors. In my view, this is unfortunate, given that this body is meant to be independent—the “Guardian of the Treaties”.’

The Maastricht Treaty is undoubtedly one of the most important achievements of European integration. Precisely for this reason it is painful that the principle of subsidiarity, as one of the most important aspects of the instrument, is one of the least respected of all EU values.