Article 2 - The Homogeneity clause

The contents of this article are only partially new to the European Treaties. Indeed, the formulation of a principle of homogeneity in the EU order has a longstanding history and is one with the very reasons that prompted the creation of a supranational order in 1951 with the ECSC, and in 1957 with the EEC and the EAEC. In the Treaty of Lisbon that came into force on 1 December 2009, the provision on the "values of the Union" is contained in Art. 2 TEU and is thus composed of the four values that characterize the foundation of the EU, human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, with the addition of respect for human rights. If you compare Art. 6.1 TEU-Nice and Art. 2 TEU-Lisbon, you will immediately realize that both provisions are different in their content and phraseology, beyond the context and their symbolic value. In the text of the TEU-Nice, the homogeneity principle is set out in a recognitive way; on the contrary, in the Lisbon Treaty are introduced new programmatic aspects aiming to regulate the Union's and the Member States' future behaviour. However, this dynamic part of the new homogeneity principle does not modify its structure and the typically legal character that it assumes in the European constitutional order, especially in the relationships between EU institutions and Member States. Homogeneity expresses supremacy of the European constitutional order over those of the Member States. Moreover, the homogeneity principle interacts with the distribution of the competences, provided by the TFEU, in the sense that it becomes a condition of its effectiveness and guarantee that there are relationships between the two orders based on the distribution of the public tasks in accordance with the canon of "competence".