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European Parliament

Selected e-articles

Abstract: This special issue of the Journal of Legislative Studies analyses the different dimensions of the European Parliament’s work in the 2019–2024 session, with each article focusing on one of the many challenges that MEPs have faced and are still facing as a result of political volatility. These include the impact of the increase in profile of Eurosceptic Members on both the coalition building and committee work that have been a traditional strength of the legislature, the activities of parliamentarians in relation to key policy areas such as public health and immigration, as well as the wider and broadly respected role of the EP in democracy promotion. Having faced these challenges for a number of years, it is even possible to argue that the 2020s will see a new ‘era of the Parliament’, following on from previous periods when either the Commission or the Council each in turn dominated EU affairs.

Abstract: This article examines administrative leadership at the top of the European Parliament by exploring the role played by Secretaries-General. Employing an institutional approach, administrative leadership is defined as behaviour that shapes the institutional character of an organization, infusing it with values and missions. The article aims to understand the behaviours that constitute the administrative leadership of the Secretary-General in the European Parliament and whether these behaviours focus solely on administrative and management tasks or also encompass the political aspects of the European Parliament as an institution (...).

Abstract: This study examines how national democratic accountability regimes and populism influence transparency supplied and demanded in the European Parliament. The study builds on research on legislative transparency, democratic accountability and populism, and is based on an analysis of the activity of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) during the 9th European Parliament term. It shows that MEPs from countries with strong accountability regimes supply and demand more transparency, and that MEPs from populist parties supply less transparency but demand more than those from mainstream parties (...).

Abstract: The European Parliament (EP) has repeatedly been criticised for its slow, insufficient response to democratic backsliding in several member states. At the same time, it is the arena where we find some of the most vigorous defences of the EU's fundamental values and appeals to safeguard the rule of law across the Union. Leveraging an original dataset of MEP statements from plenary debates over the last two EP terms (2009-2019), this article examines the dynamics of norm contestation in the EP's responses to democratic backsliding. We observe a discursive polarisation primarily along ideological lines, with a notable slippage among European People's Party legislators who shift from scepticism towards EU intervention in rule of law matters to overt support (...).

Abstract: National parliaments, alongside the European Parliament, form a constituent part of the democratic legitimacy chain of the Union and play an integral role in promoting EU values in decision-making. This paper aims to assess the role of national parliaments, supranationally within the governance of the EU, but also the democratic standards that national parliaments must meet when acting internally, outside the scope of EU law. These findings will then be put into practice to assess the Cypriot Parliament as a guardian of European values nationally, which provides for valuable insights due to its unique constitutional setting (...).

Abstract: After the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament (EP) became a co-legislator with the Council. Its influence, including in the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), has grown through its legislative, supervisory, and budgetary powers. The EP shapes the CFSP by scrutinising international agreements, approving the CFSP budget, and overseeing the actions of the Commission and Council. Although formal legislative initiatives are lacking, this study explores the impact of the EP on CFSP agenda-setting during the 2019–2024 legislature, focusing on the pilot project initiated by MEP Sánchez-Amor to establish a European Union Diplomatic Academy (EUDA) supported by the European External Action Service (EEAS). This project, already approved by the Council, illustrates how the EP strategically uses budgetary allocations to influence the EU’s external action agenda. An analysis of official documents and interviews reveals the role of the EP as a policy entrepreneur through strategic collaborations with institutions holding formal initiative powers.

Abstract: Based on the study of the professional careers of 439 parliamentary assistants of the 7th parliamentary term (2009–2014), we identify their different career patterns, especially after leaving the European parliament. We show which factors (social, biographical) influence mobility within the field of Eurocracy. We assess the importance of public/private circulation. Beyond the notorious ‘revolving doors’ and the question of the transfer of information from EU institutions to private interests, we show that parliamentary assistants form a group of specialised intermediaries of EU affairs who, after having acquired specific knowledge and know-how at the heart of European policymaking, are able to convert these assets in different sectors (public bureaucracies, private companies, or NGOs), at the EU level or in the member states. Such mobility illustrates the blurring of the public/private divide, and the hybridisation of EU governance. We thus shed new light on the structuring of the field of Eurocracy and the circulation of professionals within it.

Abstract: The article discusses the significance of the European Parliament elections for Eastern Europe and the potential impact on democracy promotion initiatives. The European Parliament has been actively engaging with citizens through platforms like TikTok and Instagram to highlight the importance of these elections. However, there are concerns that the EU's support for liberal groups in non-EU countries may inadvertently reinforce autocratic regimes. The article emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to democracy support that takes into account the specific contexts of each country. The M.O.R.D.O.R. project aims to enhance knowledge about authoritarian regimes and provide recommendations for EU foreign policy stakeholders.

Abstract: The Qatargate scandal has given the European Parliament (EP) an unusual degree of media attention which its leaders would have done well to avoid. Some commentators have argued that in a parliamentary assembly there will always be members ready to be corrupted, and that there is no reason to pay too much importance to the incident. However, far from being anecdotal, the Qatargate scandal has been an opportunity to recall that the challenges of lobbying at EU level in terms of influence, transparency and probity are immense. In this paper we first recall how the EP has repeatedly addressed the question of interest representation and MEPs behaviour since the early 1990s, and why this discussion is not an easy one. Then, we explain how it was reactivated after the 2019 European elections and how the Qatargate has pushed for reforms that seemed to be stuck. We further focus on the initiatives taken by the EP to change its internal rules as well as the creation of a new EU body in charge of ethics at inter-institutional level. Finally, we argue that the case is far from closed and that, although presented as ambitious, those reforms are not considered up to the challenges by many experts and actors.

Abstract: Citizens' ability to hold corrupt politicians accountable is a key feature of democratic political systems. Particularly in the European Union (EU), such accountability mechanisms are often argued to malfunction due to the EU's complicated and opaque institutional structure, which could compromise voters' basic abilities to detect political malpractice in Brussels. Putting EU voters' attentiveness to the test, we provide quasi‐experimental evidence of the causal effect of a recent corruption scandal in the European Parliament. Leveraging an ‘Unexpected Event during Survey Design’ identification strategy in France and Germany, we document a sizeable negative effect of the so‐called Qatargate scandal on public trust in the European Parliament (...).

Abstract: This article focuses on political donations received by the European Parliament. It shows that mapping political donations to international parliamentary institutions is necessary to form regulations that would ensure the institution's integrity and minimize political corruption. Abstract International Parliamentary Institutions (IPIs) increasingly welcome non-state actors (NSAs) within their policy-making procedures. Political donations are an important tool in NSAs' lobbying toolbox that has been well researched at the national level. Nevertheless, we know little about the links between NSAs, IPIs and political finance. Employing the European Parliament as an exploratory case-study, the article meticulously assesses micro-level financial donor data (...).

Abstract : Du 6 au 9 juin 2024, tous les citoyens de l’Union européenne sont appelés à voter pour élire les 720 députés qui composeront, pour un nouveau mandat de cinq ans, le Parlement européen. Bien que dotés de pouvoirs désormais importants pour élaborer les lois et réglementations européennes, les eurodéputés sont peu visibles et peu mis en valeur à l’échelle nationale. C’est en particulier le cas en France où cette élection (dont le mode de scrutin est mal connu des électeurs) est souvent détournée en match de politique intérieure visant à distribuer les bons et les mauvais points aux élus et dirigeants politiques nationaux. Comme on a pu le constater dès le début de l’année, la cuvée 2024 ne fait pas exception, les mécontents de la politique gouvernementale menée en France appelant à sanctionner l’équipe en place et, inversement, le gouvernement et la majorité parlementaire invitant à rejeter les partis éloignés de leur ligne politique (...).

Abstract: The European Parliament is considered a solution to the democratic deficit because the citizens of the EU directly elect it. This article aims to examine the validity of this claim. Concerning representativeness, the focus is on the homogeneity of rules and procedures used for electing the members of the European Parliament (MEPs). This homogeneity is considered as necessary for the EP to represent the EU citizens. Thus, it aims to assess the impact of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on the level of homogeneity of the rules used to conduct the 2019 European Parliament elections. This work claims that the European Parliament's role as representative of European Citizens is weakened by the consistent level of heterogeneity characterising the electoral rules used to elect it and that the withdrawal of the UK and the partial redistribution of seats simultaneously increased and decreased the level of homogeneity of the rules used to elect the MEPs.

Abstract: With growing public distrust toward European institutions, Eurosceptic populist radical-right parties make up almost a third of MEPs in the current European Parliament. As part of the larger scholarly debate on populist parties’ success, this article examines intra-party selection logic for the ‘perfect’ populist radical-right MEP candidate. Using original data from participant observation and interviews with Alternative for Germany delegates during the 2018/2019 European Election Assembly, this study suggests that party members were more likely to be selected as candidates if they (1) possessed extensive network with right-wing social movements to strengthen their electoral mobilization; (2) and showed strong commitment to party cohesion and good reputation to fend off accusations of racism and Nazism.

Abstract: In Europe, the multiplication of elections makes the election calendar a decisive issue given the decreasing participatory trend. Turnout is expected to be higher in simultaneous elections, while it lessens if several elections are held over a short period. The saliency of the preceding ballot may also affect participation in the next one. In this article, we argue that these temporal effects are crucial for European Parliament elections due to their second-order nature. We analyse how the position, frequency and nature of domestic ballots affect European Parliament elections turnout since 1979. Our results indicate that the participation level is less affected by the timing of elections than by their overall frequency. The type of preceding election also matters, although not the second-order nature per se.

Abstract: In recent decades, an important field of research has emerged concerning the careers of Members of the European Parliament. Due to the specific nature of the European Parliament, the European Union, the multilevel politics and the peculiarity of the supranational political class, it is of particular interest to map and control the regularity of, and changes in, the composition of the European Parliament and the impact over systemic features or policy-making aspects. For this reason, the article presents a new dataset comprising a collection of detailed information about all of the Members of the European Parliament who held office from the first election in 1979 until the latest in 2019. This dataset represents a useful novelty because it is a dynamic tool that allows reconnecting the Members of the European Parliament’s position and responsibilities within the European Parliament to their political background before entering the supranational assembly. Finally, the article suggests possible fields of research in which this type of data could be useful in deepening and consolidating our knowledge about the European Parliament and its members.

Abstract: Scholars agree that securitized discourses mainly drive migration policy. However, to fully understand the migration discourse, it is necessary to look also at the discourse legitimating the acceptance of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Namely, how Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) legitimate the potential acceptance of migrants in EU plenary debates within the human security speech acts that prevail in the European Parliament plenary debates. By exploring legitimation categories, I show that human security discourse might remain part of the exclusion process, similarly to other security concepts and discursive strategies. In other words, the results show that in human security speech acts, MEPs evoke the “language of exclusion practices” containing the victimhood trope and building the “hierarchy of vulnerability.” Moreover, MEPs' efforts to legitimize immigration in this way might be counterproductive. In particular, the article discusses whether attempts to elicit grand emotions such as pity or shame helps to attract.

Abstract: The rise of Euroscepticism has shifted the structure of political conflict in the European Parliament (EP) towards an increasingly dominant pro-/anti-EU divide. Focusing on the hard case of EU enlargement, this article examines changes in MEPs' discursive and voting patterns over the past two EP mandates. It combines two original datasets containing MEP statements during plenary debates and subsequent roll-call votes to examine the polarisation, cohesion, and consistency of legislative behaviour across different European Political Groups. The findings show that soft Eurosceptics drive a deepening of the pro-/anti-EU divide by radicalising in both discourse and vote to join hard Eurosceptics in their firm rejection of further enlargement. Pro-European MEPs, in contrast, show discursive accommodation of Eurosceptic concerns, with a growing inconsistency between sceptical discourse and continued vote-based support for enlargement-related initiatives. A case study of Turkey illustrates these two mechanisms. The findings shed light on the changing dynamics of political competition in the EP and the impact of rising Euroscepticism upon MEPs' legislative behaviour.

Abstract: In March 2022, the European Parliament (EP) condemned the serious situation of journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico through a plenary resolution adopted by 607 votes in favor, 2 against and 73 abstentions. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)´s reaction was surprisingly hostile, both in form and content, creating a disruption in the way the EP resolutions on Mexico had been received since the entry into force in 2000 of the international agreement governing relations with the European Union (EU). This article provides a comprehensive qualitative empirical analysis of the EP´s resolution and AMLO´s response, as well as of other political actors in Mexico and in the EU. In addition to providing relevant conclusions about the EP’s role as a moral tribune, the article sees to encourage further analysis on the broader relationship between parliamentary actors and international issues, such as human rights protection and press freedom.

Abstract: The European Parliament (EP) constitutes a prime site of contemporary party politics in Europe. Its seven political groups represent political interests and ideologies beyond specific national interests. Within the groups, national delegations exert considerable power. The research objective of this article is to generate new knowledge about the role of national delegations within political groups. The research material consists of 140 elite interviews with MEPs and staff. The data allow the article to analyse the construction of the role and the importance of national delegations and to focus not just on formal institutions, but also on informal ones which are often outside the reach of quantitative methods and data. The findings suggest that political groups can be divided into different categories. The role and influence of national delegations are strongly governed by informal institutions, in particular when it comes to distribution of leadership positions and policy making.

Abstract: This article questions and analyses the supranational aspirations of the European Union (EU) over its intergovernmental policies. It addresses first nationalism followed by neo-functionalism, supranationalism, and intergovernmentalism; the dominant theories in European integration. The purpose of the study is to reflect the EU’s supranational limitations. Our main research question is to determine whether there is a new form of Europeanism across Europe. The study shows the rising nationalism across Europe, through the 2019 and 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections, and the growing Euroscepticism through public opinion surveys (...).

Abstract: In its scrutiny role the European Parliament (EP) makes wide use of several informational resources, including Commission evaluations and European Court of Auditors’ performance audits. These crucial inputs into deliberative processes of parliamentary oversight enable committees to monitor the performance of policies financed by the EU budget. Effective scrutiny is fundamental for the throughput legitimacy and financial accountability of EU policy and law making. Traditionally the EP’s Budgetary Control Committee (CONT) has scrutinised ECA reports across all policy domains. However, during the eighth and ninth legislatures (2014-2024), direct contact has been forged between the standing committees and ECA for the presentation of audit findings, allowing committees a more retrospective perspective on policy performance (...).

Abstract: The uniqueness of the European Parliament, as well as the magnitude of impact its decisions wield over member states, are elements that capture researchers’ attention. However, several of this institution’s particularities have made broad analysis of the textual content it produces difficult. This research note presents Vitrine Démocratique, a new, publicly accessible, and centralized database structuring interventions made in the European Parliament starting in 2014, both in their original languages and translated to English. The process by which this high-velocity database was created is presented, as well as a descriptive overview of the contents of this data source, which is continuously updated on a daily basis.

Abstract: This study evaluates the link between economic voting and electoral behavior in the 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections. This study is grounded in both selective perception and economic voting theories, examining how different independent factors could interact with electoral behavior. In this regard, the research aims to achieve several research directions: (i) the evaluation of the statistical differences in voters’ turnout in 2024 EP elections by geographical regions; (ii) the analysis of the interaction between voters’ perceptions of the current or future economic situations and voter turnout; (iii) the analysis of the interaction between objective economic conditions and electoral behavior (...).

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