The Member States 25 March 1957, Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union#PART ONE - PRINCIPLES#TITLE I - CATEGORIES AND AREAS OF UNION COMPETENCE#Article 2

7.6.2016 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 202/50 Article 2 1. When the Treaties confer on the Union exclusive competence in a specific area, only the Union may legislate and adopt legally binding acts, the Member States being able to do so themselves only if so empowered by the Union or for the implementation of Union acts. 2.