Sostegno, coordinamento o completamento dell’azione degli Stati membri e quanto altro? Un tentativo di definizione del concetto di competenza “debole”

“Weakness” is a transversal element in the European Union’s system of competences outlined by Article 2 TFEU which includes the actions to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States; the coordination of the economic, employment and social policies of the Member States; some areas of shared competence (environment, consumer protection, energy, research, technological development and space, development cooperation and humanitarian aid); the common foreign and security policy, and the common security and defence policy. The COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war were followed by a remarkable regulatory activism on many “weak” issues. It is difficult to say whether this renewed regulative action can be stabilised permanently, but this is unlikely to happen without formal reviews. The public health experience, which seems to have benefited from recent events, should lead to a more general thought on the point, with a view to a possible reform of the founding Treaties.