The European Parliament The National Parliaments And European Integration

European integration is progressing at an even more rapid rate. Accompanying this progress is an increasing debate about the institutional shape and legitimacy of this new political order. This debate is driven in part by conflicting values, and in part by uncertainty. This book addresses the question of parliamentary involvement in the emerging European political system by looking at both national and European levels of parliamentary representation. In doing this, it gives greater attention to the role of national parliaments than is usual in discussions about democracy in the European Union. Based on interviews and surveys among members of parliament at the European level, and in eleven member states, it analyses the role of parliaments and parliamentarians, the linkages between national citizenry and the European level, and the problems and perspectives of institutional change. The book is provides analyses of the views from within concerning European integration and concentrates of three dimensions: the MPs themselves; their embeddedness in the process; and their perspectives on institutional structures. These views from within offer new insights and answers to institutional problems in the European Union and the so-called democratic deficit.

This handbook offers a comprehensive picture of the European activities of national parliaments in all 28 member states of the European Union. In the aftermath of the Lisbon Treaty, it assesses the extent to which national legislatures actually matter in European governance.

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.

This book presents a wide range of perspectives on the role of national parliaments in EU politics and policy-making. Many accounts of the role of national parliaments portray them as passive victims of European integration. This study instead examines their role within the EU policy-making process, looking at efforts to address perceived democratic and information ‘deficits'. Bringing together leading scholars in the fields of European studies, public policy analysis, and legislative research, this new volume provides: a thorough and wide-ranging synthetic analysis of the position of national parliaments within the EU policy-making structures a range of detailed country studies, including for the first time an analysis of the new member state parliaments in Central and Eastern Europe an analysis of the significant changes to the position of national parliaments brought about by the recent Convention process and the provisions of the EU’s Constitutional Treaty. Making an important contribution to an emerging comparative literature on the parliamentary dimension to EU public policy-making, National Parliaments within the Enlarged European Union will interest students and researchers in the fields of European integration, EU politics, and public policy analysis.

This guide is intended for busy legal practitioners and all other professionals who are involved in the criminal justice system and who require quick reference to the provisions of the 1994 Act.

Bogen forsøger at belyse balancen mellem national parlamentarisk indflydelse og europæisk integration.

This book deals with the role of national parliaments in the perspective of European Integration. It examines the relationship between national parliaments and the European Parliament. In order to find a solution to the problem of the democratic deficit in the EU, Smith concludes that it is vital for European Integration to create an efficient decision making process which is best served by centralisation and majority voting. However, this runs counter to democratic legitimation, which is dependent on institutions at the national level. The book is unique in that the description of national models for parliamentary influence is used as an example for a similar model at the European level. It is largely based on a conference which was held at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway in June 1995.