The government is carrying out a review of the EU's competences which the Foreign Secretary launched in July 2012. This is an 'audit of what the EU does and how it affects the UK'. Never before has such an ambitious exercise been undertaken by any Member State. The government says that this 'Balance of Competences review' is important to ensure that 'Britain has a clear sense of how our national interests interact with the EU's roles, particularly at a time of great change for the EU'. EU activity has been divided up into 32 areas which are being considered over four 'semesters'.
Professor Catherine Barnard has been involved in drafting the legal papers which have formed the basis of three of the third semester reports which were published on 22 July 2014 on free movement of services, on employment law and on cohesion policy. This work draws on her expertise in the fields of EU law and the single market, and EU social policy.