Download or read book Accountability Parliamentarism and Transparency in the EU written by Adam Cygan and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2013 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was a great pleasure to find such a rich analysis of the role of national parliaments in the EU. What I particularly like - and what proves to be particularly fruitful is the combination of perspectives; the EU law and national constitutional perspective including a comparative dimension, the perspective that explains the role of national parliaments in the EU from past to present (and even near future) and last but not least, the perspective of the interaction between the legal frameworks and the political reality. There is every reason to congratulate Adam Cygan wholeheartedly on this book. Ton Van Den Brink, Europa Instituut Utrecht, The Netherlands One of the most outstanding specialists on the role of national parliaments in the EU has produced another impressive book about this dynamic topic. It provides an illuminating overview of current practices, it sharply analyses the legal status quo, and it brings theoretical depth to the topic in multiple perspectives. Olaf Tans, Amsterdam University College, The Netherlands This accessible and detailed book takes an interdisciplinary approach in exploring the position of national parliaments in the EU polity and in particular their position within the EU governance framework. Adam Cygan analyses the impact of subsidiarity monitoring upon national parliaments and to what extent this provides new opportunities for national parliaments to be engaged in, and exert influence over, the EU legislative process. While the post-Lisbon position of national parliaments may have improved, this book questions whether national parliaments can really be considered as central actors in EU affairs. The author also queries whether subsidiarity monitoring has the capacity to create a collective bloc of horizontal actors which exert effective accountability over the EU legislative process. Accountability, Parliamentarism and Transparency in the EU will strongly appeal to academics, parliamentarians/parliamentary officials working in EU affairs, as well as EU civil servants.

Download or read book Political Accountability in Europe written by L. F. M. Verhey and published by ISBS. This book was released on 2008 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There seems to be a growing tendency, as prominently shown by the fall of the Santer Commission in 1999 and expressed more recently in the Constitutional Treaty, to construe the relationship between the Commission and the European Parliament as a parliamentary system. In a parliamentary system the government gives account of its action to Parliament and, where appropriate, suffers the consequences, takes the blame, or puts matters right if errors have been made. The government remains in office only as long as it has the confidence of the majority in Parliament and until Parliament votes a motion of censure or the government resigns. This study further develops a European concept of political accountability. The basic assumption of the project is that such a concept must be firmly rooted in the longstanding constitutional traditions of the Member States. From this perspective, it is relevant to try to identify what political accountability precisely means in the various Member States. This proves to be far from evident. The concept of political accountability substantially differs from country to country. For example, political accountability in Italy and France primarily seems to focus on resignation of ministers whereas political accountability in the United Kingdom or the Netherlands aims at the process of giving account. In order to analyze the various approaches and to try to identify common principles, this book brings together 12 distinguished constitutional lawyers and political scientists who have analyzed the concept of political accountability from their national perspectives. The book also includes a final comparative chapter that examines the parallels and the differences between the national systems and explores to what extent common ground can be found in Europe.

Download or read book Accountability and Legitimacy in the European Union written by Anthony Arnull and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2002 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The European Union's growing accountability deficit threatens to undermine its legitimacy; accordingly, member states have agreed to negotiate a new set of Treaty changes in 2004. These essays consider various aspects of accountability and legitimacy in the European Union.

Download or read book Parliamentary Oversight of the Executives written by Elena Griglio and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-10-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oversight of executives has always been a key function of parliaments and one that is central to developing the relationship between the executive and legislative branches of government. However, in reality governments are taking a more pronounced role in controlling legislation, diluting the influence of parliament. This book plots this trend in parliaments across Europe, to illustrate points of convergence and divergence. In so doing, it suggest tools and methods that parliaments can develop to bolster their crucial oversight role.

Download or read book Parliaments in EU Economic Governance written by Diane Fromage and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-21 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book considers national parliaments’ and the European Parliament’s role in European Union (EU) economic governance. It examines the recent strengthening of parliamentary involvement, limitations to improvements, and where and how democratic deficits still exist. It also provides the basis for some reflections concerning possible future evolutions and improvements to EU economic governance. The EU’s economic governance framework has been significantly strengthened as a response to the 2008 economic and financial crisis, and the establishment of a new Banking Union in 2013. It is thus key to determine whether these additional transfers of powers to the EU level have been accompanied by an equivalent empowerment of the national and European legislatures, allowing them to ensure adequate democratic legitimation. The chapters comprehensively re-examine the democratic (throughput) legitimacy of, and within, the EU’s economic governance by focusing on national parliaments, on the European Parliament, and on mechanisms for interparliamentary cooperation. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration.

Download or read book The Division of Competences between the EU and the Member States written by Sacha Garben and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-10-05 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The issue of competence division is of fundamental importance as it reflects the 'power bargain' struck between the Member States and their Union, determining the limits of the authority of the EU as well as the limits of the authority of the Member States. It defines the nature of the EU as a polity, as well as the identity of the Member States. After over six years since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, it is high time to take stock of whether the reforms that were adopted to make the Union's system of division of competences between the EU Member States clearer, more coherent, and better at containing European integration, have been successful. This book asks whether 'the competence problem' has finally been solved. Given the fundamental importance of this question, this publication will be of interest to a wide audience, from constitutional and substantive EU law scholars to practitioners in the EU institutions and EU legal practice more generally.

Download or read book The Principle of Subsidiarity and its Enforcement in the EU Legal Order written by Katarzyna Granat and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Katarzyna Granat analyses and evaluates Europe's experience with the Early Warning System (EWS) which allows national parliaments to review draft legislative acts of the European Union for their compatibility with the subsidiarity principle. The EWS was introduced in response to the perceived 'democratic deficit' of the EU and its 'creeping' competences, and represented one of the landmark reforms of the Lisbon Treaty. The purpose of this book is to present and critically analyse the functioning of the new mechanism of subsidiarity review and the role that national parliaments have played within this system. Compared to the existing leading publications on the Europeanisation of national parliaments and contributions on the EU principle of subsidiarity, this book offers – for the first time – a profound legal analysis of the procedure enriched by a comprehensive empirical analysis of the activities of national parliaments. It is directed at scholars of EU law and policy, European and national officials, and legal practitioners working in and with the national legislatures.

Download or read book Critical Reflections on Constitutional Democracy in the European Union written by Sacha Garben and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11-14 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes a wide-ranging approach to tackle the complex question of the current state of constitutional democracy in the EU. It brings together a broad set of academics and practitioners with legal and political perspectives to focus on both topical and perennial issues concerning constitutional democracy (including safeguarding the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights) in theory and practice, primarily at EU level but also with due regard to national and global developments. This approach underlines that rather than a single problématique to be analysed and resolved, we are presently facing a kaleidoscopic spectrum of related challenges that influence each other in elusive, multifaceted ways. Critical Reflections on Constitutional Democracy in the European Union offers a rich analysis of the issues as well as concrete policy recommendations, which will appeal to scholars and practitioners, students and interested citizens alike. It provides a meaningful contribution to the array of existing scholarship and debate by proposing original elements of analysis, challenging often-made assumptions, destabilising settled understandings and proposing fundamental reforms. Overall, the collection injects a set of fresh critical perspectives on this fundamental issue that is as contemporary as it is eternal.

Download or read book After Lisbon National Parliaments in the European Union written by Katrin Auel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The role of national parliaments in EU matters has become an important subject in the debate over the democratic legitimacy of European Union decision-making. Strengthening parliamentary scrutiny and participation rights at both the domestic and the European level is often seen as an effective measure to address the perceived ‘democratic deficit’ of the EU – the reason for affording them a prominent place in the newly introduced ‘Provisions on Democratic Principles’ of the Union (in particular Article 12 TEU). Whether this aim can be met, however, depends crucially on the degree to which, and the manner in which, national parliaments actually make use of their institutional rights. This volume therefore aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the activities of national parliaments in the post-Lisbon Treaty era. This includes the ‘classic’ scrutiny of EU legislation, but also parliamentary involvement in EU foreign policy, the use of new parliamentary participation rights of the Lisbon Treaty (Early Warning System), their role regarding the EU’s response to the Eurozone crisis, and the, so far under-researched, role of parliamentary administrators in scrutiny processes. This book was originally published as a special issue of West European Politics.

Download or read book The Italian Parliament in the European Union written by Nicola Lupo and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-10-05 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Lisbon Treaty states that national Parliaments shall contribute to a better functioning of the EU. Can they really do it and therefore enrich the European democracy? How far can they extend their original sovereignty without distorting political responsibilities that should be geared upon the European Parliament? The authors analyze the experience of the Italian Parliament under the light of these crucial questions and their exhaustive answers are greatly helpful to the readers of all over Europe." Giuliano Amato, Judge of the Italian Constitutional Court. This important new collection explores the role of the Italian Parliament in the Euro-national parliamentary system as an example of an increased role for national parliaments within the composite European constitutional order. It illustrates how parliamentary interactions within the European Union are highly systematic, with integrated procedures and mutual interdependence between the various institutions and stakeholders. The book argues that this dynamic is vital for both the functioning and the future equilibrium of democracy in the EU. This is significant, particularly given the challenges posed to democracy within the EU institutions and the Member States. Notwithstanding its peculiarities (a symmetrical bicameral system in which both Houses are directly elected, hold the same powers and are linked through a confidence relationship with the government), the Italian Parliament deserves specific attention as a lively active player of the European polity. The grid for its analysis proposed by this collection may also be applied to other national parliaments, so contributing to the development of comparative research in this field.

Download or read book Interparliamentary Cooperation in the Composite European Constitution written by Nicola Lupo and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection analyses the place and the functioning of interparliamentary cooperation in the EU composite constitutional order, taking into account both the European and the national dimensions. The chapters join the recent scholarship on the role of parliaments in the EU after the Treaty of Lisbon.The aim of this volume is to highlight the constitutional significance of interparliamentary cooperation as a permanent feature of EU democracy and as a new parliamentary function as well as to investigate the practical side of this relatively new phenomenon. To this end the contributors are academics and parliamentary officials from all over Europe. The volume discusses the developments in interparliamentary cooperation and its implications for the organisation and procedures of national parliaments and the European Parliament, for the fragmented executive of the EU, and for the democratic legitimacy of the overall EU composite Constitution. These issues are examined by looking at the European legislative process, the European Semester and the Treaty revisions. Moreover, the contributions take into account the effects of interparliamentary cooperation on the internal structure of parliaments and analyse the different models of interparliamentary cooperation, ie from COSAC to the new Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the European Union provided by the Fiscal Compact.

Download or read book The Law of the European Union and the European Communities written by Pieter Jan Kuijper and published by Kluwer Law International B.V.. This book was released on 2018-09-28 with total page 1456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Law of the European Union is a complete reference work on all aspects of the law of the European Union, including the institutional framework, the Internal Market, Economic and Monetary Union and external policy and action. Completely revised and updated, with many newly written chapters, this fifth edition of the most thorough resource in its field provides the most comprehensive and systematic account available of the law of the European Union (EU). Written by a new team of experts in their respective areas of European law, its coverage incorporates and embraces many current, controversial, and emerging issues and provides detailed attention to historical development and legislative history of EU law. Topics that are constantly debated in European legal analysis and practice are touched on in ways that are both fundamental and enlightening, including the following: .powers and functions of the EU law institutions and relationship among them; .the principles of equality, loyalty, subsidiarity, and proportionality; .free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital; .mechanisms of constitutional change – treaty revisions, accession treaties, withdrawal agreements; .budgetary principles and procedures; .State aid rules; .effect of Union law in national legal systems; .coexistence of EU, European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), and national fundamental rights law; .migration and asylum law; .liability of Member States for damage suffered by individuals; .competition law – cartels, abuse of dominant position, merger control; .social policy, equal pay, and equal treatment; .environmental policy, consumer protection, public health, cultural policy, education, and tourism; .nature of EU citizenship, its acquisition, and loss; and .law and policy of the EU’s external relations. The fifth edition embraces many new, ongoing, and emerging European legal issues. As in the previous editions, the presentation is notable for its attention to how the law relates to economic and political realities and how the various policy areas interact with each other and with the institutional framework. The many practitioners and scholars who have relied on the predecessors of this definitive work for years will welcome this extensively revised and updated edition. Those coming to the field for the first time will instantly recognize that they are in the presence of a masterwork that can always be turned to with profit and that helps in understanding the rationale underlying any EU law provision or principle.

Download or read book National Parliaments after the Lisbon Treaty and the Euro Crisis written by Jancic Davor and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-04-05 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical assessment by eminent legal and political science experts in the field, this book examines the two key factors which have deeply affected the position of national parliaments in European integrations: the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone. Structured in three parts, the book will address the question, 'Do national parliaments exhibit resilience or resignation in these changed politico-legal and socio-economic circumstances in the EU?' Part I investigates the impact of the aforementioned factors against the theoretical concepts of constitutionalism and democratic legitimacy. Part II evaluates the changing nature of parliamentary functions, and Part III appraises the evolving relationships between national parliaments and national governments, national courts, and EU institutions, in addition to surveying the emerging patterns of interparliamentary cooperation. This interdisciplinary collection yields novel insights into how the deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union and the pursuance of new initiatives for parliamentary action impact the shape and nature of EU democracy.

Download or read book National and Regional Parliaments in the EU Legislative Procedure Post Lisbon written by Anna Jonsson Cornell and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-01-12 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much has changed in European constitutional law after the Lisbon Treaty, not least the efforts to increase democratic legitimacy by engaging national legislatures and introducing a stricter subsidiary review process, namely the Early Warning Mechanism (EWM). This collection looks at how national parliaments have adapted to their new roles and looks at how the new system has impacted on relations between the EU legislative bodies and national parliaments. A team of experts from across Europe explore the effect of the EWM on the national constitutional orders; analyse the regional impact of EWM and evaluate the new system of scrutiny.

Download or read book Parliamentary Administrations in the European Union written by Anna-Lena Högenauer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a comprehensive overview of the role of parliamentary administrations in the control of European Union policy-making. It questions whether the decision to give parliaments greater powers in the aftermath of the Lisbon Treaty had only the intended effect of political debate on European policies, or whether it has also resulted in the bureaucratisation of parliaments. The authors argue that the challenges of information-management faced by parliaments lead them to delegate an extensive set of tasks to their administrations. They offer a broad empirical picture, analysing the challenges faced by national parliaments and the role and response of their administrations in the case of the European Parliament, national parliaments and regional parliaments. In addition, the book studies the interaction between different administrations and their contribution to interparliamentary cooperation. It presents a new and different perspective on the challenges and dynamics of multi-level parliamentarism.

Download or read book Debating Europe in National Parliaments written by Frank Wendler and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-06-27 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates recent public debates about the European Union (EU) in national parliaments, which have become the primary arena for public debate about the EU. Responding to claims about a politicization of European governance, the author investigates the link between two dimensions of debate – the discursive justification and party political contestation of decision-making in the EU. Embedded in a comparison between the legislatures of four Member States (Austria, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom), the main finding of the book is that generalizable links can be identified between the use of different argumentative frames and patterns of party political polarization. These insights help to clarify the context conditions in which patterns of left/right and government/opposition politics are replaced by more atypical forms of polarization. In a comparative perspective, the author demonstrates that party political factors are a more relevant factor for variation than thematic or country-specific cultural or institutional factors. Case studies include debates on EU Treaty Reform, the Eurozone crisis, and EU enlargement.

Download or read book The Court of Justice of the European Union as an Institutional Actor written by Thomas Horsley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-07-19 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uses the EU Treaty framework to (re)assess the legitimacy of the Court of Justice's institutional role in European integration.