Week 4: The European Parliament Flashcards
The European Parliament is:
- The only directly elected Eu institution
- That’s why it’s a Supranational institution
- A major role in EU policymaking
- Governed by the politics, but still has to pay great attention to expertise and national interests
- Majoritarian institution dominated by norms of consensus
Rational-choice models
despite having formal equal power to veto Commission’s proposals in the Ordinary Legislative Procedure (OLP), the Council still enjoys a dominant position. This is the case because of the structure of the procedure: in the second reading stage, it is easier for the EP to accept the Council’s common position (simple majority) than to amend or reject it (absolute majority)
Trilogues
An informal, but highly institutionalized meetings where the Council, European Parliament and the Commission meet to find agreements under the Ordinary Legislative Procedure.
How is the Trilogues advantageous and disadvantageous for the European Parliament?
Advantageous: More people from the European Parliament
Disadvantageous: If the European Parliament goes into trilogues with a weak majority it is easier for the Council to play ‘divide-and-conquer’.
Name the powers the EP has beyond policymaking:
- Gives consent to ratify most international agreements
- Although the European Parliament does not have power to initiate a legislation, it has power to appoint and scutinize(onderzoeken) the Commission.
- Also control over other institutions: ECB, EU agencies
What is the challenge for a fragmented parliament?
To find a common position (majority) and develop a global strategy in the context of an intense inter-institutional competition.
Name the four functions of the Parliamentary Committees
The committees are established to make the European Parliament more efficient:
- Facilitate specialization
- Enhance EP’s ability to influence legislation
- Reduces the information asymmetry compared to the executives
- Hold institutions accountable
(The EP’s position is decided in the committees)
European elections are still second order because:
Second-order elections: people consider that there is less at stake in these elections when casting their vote.
- Lower turnout
- Tend to focus on national rather than European issues
- Benefit to smaller and more extreme parties
European elections aren’t second order, because…
Counterargument “Europe Salience”:
- Environmental issues and European integration (polarized issue) are more significant at eu level. That’s why these issues receive considerable attention among voters, leading to different voting behaviors than at national level.
Current challenges for the EP
Polarization and politicization:
The EP is polarized:
- The increase in eurosceptic and populist parties
- More away from traditional catch-all parties
This is threatening to the EP’s functioning.
Facing de-parliamentarization
The EP faces challenges that are not exclusively European:
- The growing role of the executive power at the expense of legislatures.
The EP as a supranational institution cannot avoid the shadows of intergovernmentalism for the following reasons:
- Externally: the rise of the European Council
- Internally: politization –>polarization, eurosceptism and radical ideologies.
