76In that regard, it is appropriate to bear in mind that the second paragraph of Article 5 EC refers to the principle of subsidiarity — given actual definition by the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, annexed to the Treaty — and which provides that the Community, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, is to take action only if and insofar as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved by the Community. That protocol, in paragraph 5, also lays down guidelines for the purposes of determining whether those conditions are met (Vodafone and Others, paragraph 72).
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