Dalla sussidiarietà ascendente a quella discendente. L'ambiguo percorso dell'Unione europea

From ascending to descending subsidiarity: the ambiguous path of the European Union
It is argued that there are two interpretations of the concept of subsidiarity: one «ascending» and the other «descending». These two concepts appear to have shaped the first phase of EU policy and the second, recent phase, respectively. The reason for this change are outlined. The second part of the paper analyzes the consequences that this interpretation has on achievement of the objectives of the public sector. It is stressed that, according to the received doctrine of public finance, the principle has a limited and well defined field of application. Implementation of the principle has the effect of severely reducing the scope for equity policies. The latter are already jeopardized by the globalization process and will be further threatened by consistent application of the subsidiarity principle within the EU.