Intra-Party Group Unity in the European Parliament Prior to its First Direct Elections in 1979

Abstract

This article examines the inner unity of the European Parliament's (EP) party groups prior to its first direct elections in 1979, at a time when such unity was technically not necessary, given the EP's dominantly consultative role, according to the Treaties; and when no electoral incentives and few disciplinary tools could be used to enforce unity. Using semi-structured interviews with former Members of the EP (MEPs) from all EP party groups existing prior to 1979, as well as EP documents from that time, this article highlights, on the one hand, the positive and strategic incentives that group unity brought to individual MEPs. On the other hand, the article demonstrates the MEPs' socialisation to group solidarity norms, their shared preferences and their personal connections. The article also suggests the role of MEPs' attitudes towards European integration, and willingness to increase the power of their institution.

A Parliament for the People? – The European Parliament’s Activism in the Area of Social Policy From the Early 1970s to the Single European Act

“…While unity at the group level played an important role in the process of brokering political compromises which then became the EP's positions, this intra-group unity was usually displayed first and foremost during the drafting process of EP opinions. 33 Once the vote in plenary was passed, groups rarely distanced themselves from or declared their opposition to the adopted position so as not to weaken the EP's standing in the overall legislative procedure. 34 Another influencing factor with regard to inter-party unity in the EP's social policy was the dominantly favourable attitude towards closer social integration among those MEPs who were particularly active in the area.…”

Becoming Europe's Parliament: Europeanization through MEPs' Supranational Activism, 1952–79

“…Such knowledge was swiftly acquired through the EP's parliamentary structure of party groups and committees. The swift socialization of new members into working procedures as well as into the sets of norms and ideas promoted by fellow group members – a meso‐level vertical Europeanization process – is visible in the persisting intra‐group unity that can be traced throughout the EP's pre‐elections history (Roos, 2019). This intra‐group unity is particularly noteworthy not only because the groups consisted of a wide variety of national parties, but also because they held but a fraction of the means usually held by western European national parties to enforce party group discipline.…”