1,720,984 research outputs found
EU democracy beyond participation:Building an EU political space
No full textIn the long history of the debates on the European Union’s democratic deficit, two prominent lines of argument can be distinguished: one is primarily concerned with strengthening elected institutions and the public-sphere conditions conducive to their well-functioning (the ‘public sphere’ argument), while the other rather aims at creating new channels for participation beyond the elected institutions (the ‘participation’ argument). The latter argument – which seeks to move beyond representative democracy in the EU – has long been made but has recently gained new impetus. This essay starts from an examination of the trajectory and components of the participation argument. Then, as a kind of response, I outline the logic of the public sphere argument and critically reflect upon its validity in the present times. Finally, I review a selection of institutional reforms and suggest how they might be evaluated from each perspective. Specifically, I consider the following proposals: pan-European referendums; citizens assemblies on EU legislative proposals; transnational lists for elections to the European Parliament; the direct election of members of the EU’s executive bodies; and a permanent Legislative Council of Ministers
From procedural disagreement to joint scrutiny? The Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance
No full textThe provision of Article 13 TSCG to create an Interparliamentary Conference was the starting point for long discussions after which national parliaments and the European Parliament eventually reached a compromise. This article pursues a two-fold objective: It first examines the different phases of interparliamentary negotiations from 2012 to 2015. On the basis of a distinction between three competing models for interparliamentary cooperation, the article shows that the two models of EP-led scrutiny and creating a collective parliamentary counterweight did not prevail: Parliaments agreed that the new Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance (SECG) would follow the ‘standard’ interparliamentary conference (COSAC model). In terms of national parliaments’ actual participation, the lowest common denominator compromise has not changed the numbers of participating MPs: Attendance records are stable over time, the size of national delegations continues to vary and participating MPs are still twice as likely to be members of Budget or Finance committees than to be members of European affairs committees
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Prognosen zur Zusammensetzung und Arbeit des Europäischen Parliaments nach der Wahl 2014
No full textVom 22. bis 25. Mai 2014 wird ein neues Europäisches Parlament gewählt. Trotz vieler Unwägbarkeiten lassen sich bereits mögliche Veränderungen durch diese Europawahl skizzieren. Zwei große Trends sind auf der Basis aktueller Prognosen wahrscheinlich: Stimmengewinne für die Fraktion der Progressiven Allianz der Sozialisten und Demokraten (S&D) bei Verlusten für die Fraktion der Europäischen Volkspartei (EVP) und Zugewinne für populistische und europakritische Parteien zulasten der etablierten Parteien. Sie würden das Europäische Parlament nicht paralysieren, aber eine (noch) stärkere Zusammenarbeit der etablierten Parteien forcieren, die auch durch den Prozess und den Zeitplan bis zum Amtsantritt der neuen Europäischen Kommission begünstigt wird. Eine Analyse des Abstimmungsverhaltens der Abgeordneten in der Legislaturperiode 2009-2014 hilft, diese möglichen Veränderungen im europäischen Machtgefüge besser einzuordnen. Da die beiden großen Fraktionen und politischen Lager gleichauf zu liegen scheinen, ist das Rennen jedoch noch völlig offen
Economic surveillance and coordination mechanisms won’t work without proper scrutiny by national parliaments
Get PDFThe principle of strengthening national parliaments in the EU’s legislative process has attracted substantial attention in recent years. Perhaps more important, however, is their role in economic governance. After the European Council of 17-18 March endorsed the policy priority areas of the Annual Growth Survey, Valentin Kreilinger writes that national parliaments can play a key role in scrutinising the economic policy surveillance and coordination of the so called ‘European Semester’
Inter-parliamentary cooperation and its challenges: The case of Economic and Financial Governance
No full textPossibilities for upgrading inter-parliamentary cooperation after the 2014 European elections
No full textThe parliaments in the EU are facing a choice. They may exploit the existing possibilities, continue business as usual (possibly with declining participation in inter-parliamentary cooperation, so no change), or bypass existing interparliamentary structures. The last and most extreme scenario would mean that some national parliaments, for example the six founding members or the Member States that have adopted the euro, create their own conference, with serious repercussions to “pre-in” countries, to the EU institutions, and to the inclusiveness of economic and financial governance. The second option (business as usual) does not help building a genuine Economic and Monetary Union either. Only the first scenario would help reduce the existing weakness in democratic accountability and legitimacy, both in general, and especially in connection with the genuine EMU in the making. An inter-parliamentary conference as a place to discuss these policies could have the positive effect of gradually becoming an arena in which the future direction of the Union’s economic policy is shaped
Efforts to increase inter-parliamentary cooperation in the EU are progressing at a snail’s pace
No full textThe principle of increasing the role of national parliaments in the EU’s legislative process has been promoted by several political actors, with the Treaty of Lisbon introducing a so called ‘yellow card’ system under which national parliaments can force the European Commission to review a legislative proposal. Valentin Kreilinger writes on recent decisions and initiatives related to the role of national parliaments in economic governance, international affairs and EU legislation. He argues that while national parliaments and the European Parliament do cooperate with each other, attempts to strengthen this process have only made very slow progress
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