Most people believe that the European Union can legislate on anything, and that there are no limits beyond which the EU should, or may not, get involved. In fact, the European Union’s powers are dictated by the various EU Treaties, which are agreed and signed by each Member government.
Essentially the process whereby the EU gains its powers, is that the different EU governments meet and agree the European political priorities for the following ten years or so, negotiate a treaty encapsulating these, then grant the different EU institutions the powers to get on with the job. In very simple terms this is what happens each time a new Treaty e.g. Maastricht and Nice, is agreed.
It is a long recognized principle that the EU can only act within the limited areas in which it has been given power by the Member governments through the governing treaties. However, there are two core types of powers that the EU may be granted: Exclusive Competence, and Shared Competence. [5]
The Treaty of Lisbon clarifies the division of competences between the European Union (EU) and Member States. It introduces a precise classification for the first time in the founding Treaties, distinguishing between three main types of competence: exclusive competences, shared competences and supporting competences.
The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) distinguishes between three types of competence and draws up a non-exhaustive list of the fields concerned in each case:
exclusive competences (Article 3 of the TFEU): the EU alone is able to legislate and adopt binding acts in these fields. The Member States’ role is therefore limited to applying these acts, unless the Union authorises them to adopt certain acts themselves;
shared competences (Article 4 of the TFEU): the EU and Member States are authorised to adopt binding acts in these fields. However, Member States may exercise their competence only in so far as the EU has not exercised, or has decided not to exercise, its own competence;
supporting competences (Article 6 of the TFEU): the EU can only intervene to support, coordinate or complement the action of Member States. Consequently, it has no legislative power in these fields and may not interfere in the exercise of these competences reserved for Member States.
What has this got to do with Romania?
It is quite clear by now that Romania is - to date - unable to handle an issue that has been successfully solved in a number of so-called “third world countries” with far smaller budgets at their disposal than has Romania - a member of the European Family.
Romania's extermination policy according to Law 258/2013 is a disaster for animals and people alike.
Romania's 'Catch & Kill' policy according to Law 258/2013 causes unnecessary suffering to sentient beings without solving the issue as it is aimed at the wrong target, and shows the policy-makers have not understood where unwanted dogs come from
Law 258/2013 is in flagrant breach of European values and a number of international legal obligations binding on Romania
Tens of thousands of millions of Romanian taxpayers' money are being spent on a discredited strategy that has failed everywhere in the world - a sum which could contribute significantly to a country with many profound needs
The 'Making the Link' Pilot Study found that in Bistrita, Romania, 86,3 % of the children had witnessed animal abuse in public. 65 % claimed to have been emotionally affected by the experience. Such abuse has been identified as poisoning, hanging and mutilation of homeless animals. Children (10%) who admitted to abusing animals also correlated with aggression against people and property. They identified a predilection for committing theft but also displayed reduced empathy and suicidal tendencies
Romanian authorities' failure to vaccinate owned dogs against rabies in the absence of microchipping, puts the human population at risk, including those of bordering countries. According to official figures, currently only 29.45% of owned animals are vaccinated against rabies, which is the lowest vaccination rate in 41 years