Transforming representative democracy in the EU? The role of the European Parliament

Abstract

Parliaments are not generally conceived of as leaders. However, the European Parliament (EP) has played a pivotal leadership role in transforming the character of representative democracy at EU level. For much of its history the EP argued for a representative system based on competition between institutions operating on the principle of a separation of powers. However, following the Lisbon Treaty and the 2014 European elections, a rather different paradigm has grown in prominence, namely an embryonic form of parliamentary government where executive power is channelled through the elected representatives of the people. The Parliament has thereby been at the centre of a transformative development in the structures of representation of the EU. The precise consequences of this change remain uncertain but it is likely to prove difficult to reverse the 2014 institutional revolution, with its profound implications for the debate about the character of representative government at EU level.

Keywords:

• European Parliament
• representative democracy
• separation of powers
• parliamentary government

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous referee and the principal investigators on the project for their comments and wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the European Commission Erasmus+ programme – Jean Monnet ‘Policy debate with academic world’ Reference number of the grant: 565351-EPP-1-2015-1-CA-EPPJMO-PROJECT (Principal Investigators: Amy Verdun and Ingeborg Tömmel).

Notes

1. The extent of that parity remains the object of dispute. In relation to legislative codecision, see, for example, Rasmussen et al. (2013).

2. Declaration 11 on Article 17(6) and (7) of the Treaty on European Union:

The Conference considers that, in accordance with the provisions of the Treaties, the European Parliament and the European Council are jointly responsible for the smooth running of the process leading to the election of the President of the European Commission. Prior to the decision of the European Council, representatives of the European Parliament and of the European Council will thus conduct the necessary consultations in the framework deemed the most appropriate. These consultations will focus on the backgrounds of the candidates for President of the Commission, taking account of the elections to the European Parliament, in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 17(7). The arrangements for such consultations may be determined, in due course, by common accord between the European Parliament and the European Council.

3. The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), including the British Conservatives, now the third largest group in the Parliament, maintained their consistent opposition to the Spitzenkandidaten process.

4. Indeed he did not hide his ambition to be elected a third time as Parliament President in January 2017 but finally decided in November 2016 to return to German politics.

5. As proposed in an EP resolution adopted on 8 September 2015 on a report entitled ‘Commissioner hearings: lessons to be taken from the 2014 process’.