The European Parliament in Times of EU Crisis Dynamics and Transformations

This book assesses the many changes that have occurred within the European Parliament and in its external relations since the Lisbon treaty (2009) and the last European elections (2014). It is undoubtedly the institution that has evolved the most since the 1950s. Despite the many crises experienced by European integration in the last years, the Parliament is still undergoing important changes in its formal competences, its influence on policy-making, its relations with other EU institutions, its internal organisation and its internal political dynamics. Every contribution deals with the most recent aspects of these evolutions and addresses overlooked topics, providing an overview of the current state of play which challenges the mainstream intergovernmental approach of the EU. 

This project results from research conducted at the Department of European Political and Governance Studies of the College of Europe. Individual research of several policy analysts of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) have contributed to this endeavour.

List of Figures and Tables

Acknowledgments 

Notes on Contributors

Introduction: The need for further research on the European Parliament

Olivier Costa

Part I The EP and the EU Political System

1 Parliamentary oversight: Challenges facing classic scrutiny instruments and the emergence of new forms of ‘steering’ scrutiny

Eva-Maria Poptcheva

2 The European Parliament and the European Council. A shift in the balance of power?

Wolfgang Wessels, Johannes Müller Gomez and Johannes Wolters

3 The CJEU and the Parliament’s powers since Lisbon. Judicial support to representative democracy?

Sabine Saurugger and Fabien Terpan

4 The relationship between the Committee of the Regions and the European 

Parliament: an evolving relationship?

François Decoster, Jennifer Rousselle and Vincent Delhomme

Part II The EP in the EU Policy Making

5 Taming Trilogues – The EU’s Law-Making Process in a Comparative Perspective

Justin Greenwood and Christilla Roederer-Rynning

6 The European Parliament and EU secondary legislation: Improved Scrutiny Practices and Upstream Involvement for Delegated Acts and Implementing Acts

Vicky Marissen

 

7 Out of balance? Practical experience with quasi-legislative Delegated Acts 2009-2017

Michael Kaeding

8 The European Parliament’s contribution to the EU Budget: a power game

Anne Vitrey and Frederik Mesdag

 

Part III The EP Politics

9 The European Parliament and Civil Society

Amandine Crespy and Louisa Parks

10 Parliamentary questions and representation of territorial interest in the EP

Nathalie Brack and Olivier Costa

11 The arduous way towards a uniform electoral system for the European Parliament

Rudolf Hrbek 

12 Euroscepticism at the EP Elections in 2014: A Reflection of the Different Patterns of Opposition to the EU?

Birte Wassenberg

13 Migration Policy Debates in the European Parliament. Does the Mainstream Right stand its Ground?

Brice Cristoforetti and Lara Querton

 

14 Possible Future European Union Party Political Systems

Martin Westlake 

15 Reforming the European Parliament’s Monetary and Economic Dialogues: Creating Accountability Through a Eurozone Oversight Subcommittee

Dermot Hodson and Michele Chang

16 The European Parliament and the energy poverty: Such a long way to develop a distinctive voice in the Energy Union

Frédérique Berrod, Louis Navé and Samuel Verschraegen

17 Parliamentary Diplomacy: Democracy support at the European Parliament

Beatrix Immenkamp and Naja Bentzen

18 The European Parliament in Security and Defence: The Parliamentary Contribution to the European Defence Union

Elena Lazarou

 

19 The European Parliament’s role in monitoring the implementation of EU trade policy

Laura Puccio and Roderick Harte