Letter: Everything you wanted to know about subsidiarity

Sir: In your issue of 4 July, you published my letter of 3 July. Unfortunately, in the editing an error slipped in. The blanket restriction on retained powers that I mentioned in paragraph three is not contained in the Maastricht treaty as you made it read, but in the original European Community treaty, as interpreted by the Court of Justice.

As part of established Community law (acquis communautaire), this state of the law is indirectly confirmed in article B, item 4 of the Maastricht treaty.

Yours faithfully,

B. van der ESCH

Brussels

Belgium