National Parliamentary Control of EU Policy: The Challenge of Supranational Institutional Development

Abstract

The history of the EU is characterised by rapid and complex institutional development. This leaves European Affairs Committees (EACs) in national parliaments with a moving target problem in their endeavours to control the government's EU policies. This paper investigates how EACs react to this challenge. Building on the rational delegation literature, it is argued that EACs are likely to adapt control instruments in tandem with institutional changes at the supranational level. Using McCubbins and Schwartz (1984, American Journal of Political Science, 28, 165–179), it is further argued that EACs are likely to want to impose both police patrol and fire alarm control on the government. These arguments are investigated in the case of Denmark during the 50-year period since the first Danish application for EU membership in 1961, and considerable support is found for the authors' hypotheses.

Keywords:

• national parliamentary control
• Europeanisation
• parliamentary EU committee
• Denmark

Notes

1. For an updated list of national EACs, see COSAC's (Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union) website (http://www.cosac.eu/).

2. The Danish parliament did not yet have a permanent committee structure, so all parliamentary committees had to be established by a formal decision in each parliamentary session. A permanent committee structure was established in 1972–73, and the special committee was then made permanent as the Danish EAC.

3. Exchange of letters between the foreign minister and the EAC chairman (10 and 18 February 2011, respectively).

Additional information

Note on Authors

Jens Blom-Hansen* is Professor in the Department of Political Science and Government at the University of Aarhus, Denmark

Ingvild Olsen is Head of Section in Central Denmark Region, Viborg, Denmark, email: [email protected]