The institutional position of national parliaments in the European Union: developments, explanations, effects

Winzen, Thomas

doi:10.1080/13501763.2021.1898663

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Even parties' own MEPs demand a certain degree of autonomy to act on their European mandate independently from their national parties. More scrutiny by and institutional power for national parliaments could partly solve this issue, as it would give national parties and party elites a more direct and visible channel of influence on EU decision-making (Bellamy and Kröger 2014;Winzen 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living up to expectations? EU politicization and party Europeanization in Flanders and the Netherlands

Pittoors

Gheyle

2022

Acta Polit

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At the turn of the century, both academics and practitioners anticipated the Europeanization of national politics and political parties. One major expectation was that parties would adapt their organisation and behaviour to the existence of the EU and the functioning of its institutions. However, the early 2000s poured cold water on those expectations: the slacking politicization of EU affairs, it was concluded, created few incentives for parties to adapt, and so there was no meaningful Europeanization to speak of. EU politicization became the necessary pre-condition for party Europeanization. Today, however, that pre-condition seems (partly) fulfilled, as scholars are observing increasing EU politicization. Hence, we ask whether parties live up to expectations and, facing a politicised context, are today showing signs of party organizational Europeanization (POE). Based on a comparative case study of Dutch and Flemish parties, who function in differently politicized environments, we find that Europeanization remains limited. We conclude that it is likely not EU politicization holding parties back, but instead point towards the broader institutional misfit between national and European politics. We call on future research to further elaborate on this misfit, which might be the Achilles heel for EU democracy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living up to expectations? EU politicization and party Europeanization in Flanders and the Netherlands

Pittoors

Gheyle

2022

Acta Polit

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“…This study analyzes data on national parliamentary oversight institutions for the European Semester (Rittberger & Winzen, 2015;Winzen, 2021). These data stem from examining national constitutions, legislation, parliamentary rules of procedure, and other parliamentary documents and, if primary sources were unavailable, academic literature, to identify formal oversight institutions in national parliaments in relation to the European Semester on a yearly basis.…”

Section: Data and Operationalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An index of EU-specific oversight institutions including the existence of European (Winzen, 2012(Winzen, , 2021.…”

Section: Oversight Institutions In Eu Affairsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Euro area integration is highly differentiated, and the Semester's implications vary accordingly across countries. Yet, the literature on differentiated integration has largely sidestepped any discussion of national parliaments, and research on national parliaments has hardly mentioned differentiated integration (for reviews, see Holzinger & Schimmelfennig, 2012;Winzen, 2021; but see Genovese & Schneider, 2020). Specific research on the European Semester, moreover, disagrees on the effect of Euro area membership on national parliaments (Hallerberg et al, 2018;Rasmussen, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The European Semester and Parliamentary Oversight Institutions Inside and Outside of the Euro Area

Winzen

2021

PaG

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The European Semester is a challenge for national parliaments but also an opportunity to reform domestic oversight institutions. Drawing on data from all member states, this study examines the conditions under which national parliaments use this opportunity. Is Euro area membership a prerequisite for parliamentary adaptation to the European Semester and, if so, which further combinations of conditions account for variation among Euro area countries? The analysis suggests that membership in or close ties with the Euro area and institutional strength constitute <em>necessary conditions</em> for parliamentary adaptation. Combined with other factors—in particular, public debt exceeding the Maastricht criteria—these conditions explain reform in many cases. National parliamentary adaptation to the European Semester thus follows existing institutional divisions constituted by differentiated integration in the Euro area and uneven national parliamentary strength.

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“…More Eurosceptic parliaments might include more deputies that want to avoid involvement in EU-level arenas. Furthermore, data on the strength of EU-related parliamentary oversight institutions at the domestic level come from Winzen (2021). Domestic opportunities to monitor EU affairs might render EU-level participation unnecessary or, alternatively, might motivate the involved parliamentarians to employ further information-gathering mechanisms (Lipps, 2020).…”

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confidence: 99%

Does differentiated integration weaken parliamentary involvement? Evidence from the European Union's interparliamentary conferences

Winzen

2022

European Union Politics

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Does differentiated integration undermine the motivation of parliamentarians from less integrated member states to become involved in European Union affairs? Focusing on the European Union's new interparliamentary conferences in economic governance, and justice and home affairs, this study examines whether voluntary and involuntary as well as comprehensive and partial differentiation influence parliamentary involvement, measured as participation in interparliamentary conferences. Based on new data and Coarsened Exact Matching, the results indicate that the effect of differentiation depends on its political origins and design. Only voluntary and comprehensive differentiation depress parliamentary involvement. The results can be seen as favourable regarding the legitimacy of differentiation and compatible with the European Union's ambition to limit the institutional implications of differentiation. They also indicate a targeted parliamentary response to differentiated integration.

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The institutional position of national parliaments in the European Union: developments, explanations, effects

Cited by 16 publications

References 54 publications

Living up to expectations? EU politicization and party Europeanization in Flanders and the Netherlands

Living up to expectations? EU politicization and party Europeanization in Flanders and the Netherlands

The European Semester and Parliamentary Oversight Institutions Inside and Outside of the Euro Area

Does differentiated integration weaken parliamentary involvement? Evidence from the European Union's interparliamentary conferences

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