Working with national parliaments on EU affairs

Studie 03-10-2017

National parliaments possess certain democratic qualities and responsibilities, such as popular legitimacy or scrutiny of the executive power. However, for decades the European Treaties have neither regulated nor envisaged any substantive relations between national parliaments and the European institutions – the role of national parliaments was marginal or overlooked. The situation began to change slowly with the adoption of the Treaty of Maastricht (1992). However, the real change in national parliaments' status in the EU is connected with the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon (2007), which has enabled national parliaments' active involvement in EU affairs and enhanced the dialogue between national parliaments and the EU institutions. Today, national parliaments actively participate in the scrutiny of subsidiarity principles in draft EU legislative acts; they are engaged in a political dialogue with the European Commission; and they are involved in interparliamentary cooperation with the European Parliament. National parliaments strive to become an active and appreciated player at EU level. Against this background, this European Implementation Assessment seeks to provide an overview and analysis of the body of research carried out with regard to the position of national parliaments in the EU.