The European Parliament as an Accountability Forum

The European Parliament as an Accountability Forum PDF

Author: Adina Akbik

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-02-03

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1108882056

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This book provides the first in-depth empirical study of the European Parliament's powers of scrutiny of the executive in the European Union (EU) political system, focusing on the politically salient field of the Economic and Monetary Union. The expansion of executive decision-making during the euro crisis was accompanied by an empowerment of the European Parliament through legislative oversight. This book examines how the European Parliament exercises that oversight on a day-to-day basis and thus contributes to political accountability at the EU level. Building on an innovative analytical framework for the study of parliamentary questions and answers, Adina Akbik sheds light on the European Parliament's possibilities and limitations to hold EU executive bodies accountable more generally. Case studies cover the period 2012 to 2019 and include the European Central Bank in banking supervision, the European Commission, the Eurogroup, and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council. This title is Open Access.

The Real World of EU Accountability

The Real World of EU Accountability PDF

Author: Mark Bovens

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2010-06-24

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 0191615285

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The Real World of EU Accountability reports the findings of a major empirical study into patterns and practices of accountability in European governance. The product of a 4-year, path-breaking project, this book assesses to what extent and how the people that populate the key arenas where European public policy is made or implemented are held accountable. Using a systematic analytical framework, it examines not just the formal accountability arrangements but also documents and compares how these operate in practice. In doing so, it provides a unique, empirically grounded contribution to the pivotal but often remarkably fact-free debate about democracy and accountability in European governance. With four empirical chapters covering the Commission and its agencies, the European Council, and Comitology committees, it shows that a web of formal accountability arrangements has been woven around most of them, but that the extent to which the relevant accountability forums actually use the oversight possibilities offered to them varies markedly: some forums lack the institutional resources, others the willingness. But in those cases where both are on the increase, as in the European Parliament's efforts vis a vis the European Commission, fundamentally healthy accountability relationships are developing. Although ex-post accountability is only part of the larger equation determining the democratic quality of European governance, this study suggests that at least in this area, the EU is slowly but surely reducing its 'democratic deficit'.

The Political Accountability of EU and US Independent Regulatory Agencies

The Political Accountability of EU and US Independent Regulatory Agencies PDF

Author: Miroslava Scholten

Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers

Published: 2015-01-27

Total Pages: 507

ISBN-13: 9004262997

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The Political Accountability of EU and US Independent Regulatory Agencies is an in-depth investigation on the law and practices of the political accountability arrangements of the 35 EU and 16 US independent agencies. The comparative analysis demonstrates similarities between the political accountability arsenals and challenges to political oversight in the EU and the US. The greatest differences are revealed in the organization of the political accountability of independent agencies, i.e., ‘excessive diversity in the EU vs. uniformity in the US’, and the design of accountability obligations. Based on comparative insights, the book concludes with three recommendations on how the EU agencies’ political accountability could be adjusted in the ongoing reform on agencies’ creation and operation.

Accountability, Parliamentarism and Transparency in the EU

Accountability, Parliamentarism and Transparency in the EU PDF

Author: Adam Cygan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 1782548653

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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.

The Illusion of Accountability in the European Union

The Illusion of Accountability in the European Union PDF

Author: Sverker Gustavsson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-09-11

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 113522059X

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This book examines accountability in the EU from different perspectives and considers whether EU citizens have real opportunities for holding decision-makers accountable. This book critically analyses five arguments which claim there are sufficient means for holding decision-makers to account in the Union. The main conclusion is that the current institutional set-up and practice of decision-making in the EU is one that merely creates an illusion of accountability. Using a strict framework focusing on the difference between formal mechanisms and actual opportunities for accountability, this highly coherent volume will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics, especially those interested in the democratic foundations of the European political system. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Accountability in the European Union

Accountability in the European Union PDF

Author: Carol Harlow

Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 9780199245970

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The debate over the democratic deficit of the European Union tends to focus on the legitimacy of the European Parliament. This work approaches the issue from the angle of accountability an essential element of democratic government.

The Role of the European Parliament in the European Semester

The Role of the European Parliament in the European Semester PDF

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 14

ISBN-13:

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This paper considers the role the European Parliament should play under a new European Semester. It begins with a discussion of what legislatures generally do in economic policy and in fiscal policy in particular. It then considers the nature of the problem facing European governance and possible institutional changes to address it. It documents one problem in particular--the Council of Ministers routinely weakens the text of recommendations the Commission proposes for individual Member States under the Stability and Growth Pact. There is therefore a need for an institution to keep both bodies accountable. The European Parliament is ideally positioned to play this role. The Parliament should hold hearings in April of each year to evaluate the performance of the European Commission and Council of Ministers. These hearings would also provide a useful forum to discuss whether Member States have complied with their Convergence/Stability Programmes and with their National Reform Programmes.

Political Accountability in Europe

Political Accountability in Europe PDF

Author: L. F. M. Verhey

Publisher: ISBS

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 9789076871820

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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.

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