Conclusion: regional parliaments – a distinct role in the EU?

ABSTRACT

Regional parliaments can shape EU policy-making via a range of domestic and European channels. In the context of a renewed interest in the subnational level, this article aims to address three core questions: have regional parliaments really been empowered by the early warning system provisions? Which factors explain differences in strength and mobilisation? Finally, what kind of a role do regional parliaments play in EU policy-making today, now that they have had several years to react to the trend towards multilevel parliamentarism? The authors argue that regional parliaments do indeed have the potential to contribute a distinct perspective to EU policy-making, even if their current level of activity is still low. Their distinctive territorial focus sets them apart from national parliaments. Their level of activity still varies greatly between parliaments depending on a number of factors.

KEYWORDS:

• European Union
• parliaments
• regions
• multilevel governance
• mobilisation
• scrutiny

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Anna-Lena Högenauer is Adjoint de Recherche at the University of Luxembourg. She work on European democracy and multilevel governance and was a member of the Pademia and OPAL projects on the role of parliaments in the European Union from 2011 to 2016. Email: [email protected]

Gabriele Abels is Professor for ‘Political Systems of Germany and the EU and European Integration’ at the University of Tübingen. She has been Jean-Monnet-Professor since 2011. Email: [email protected]