Latest documents

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, focuses on the scope of the CJEU’s jurisdiction over national measures relating to the organisation of national judiciaries. After providing an overview of the legal framework post Lisbon Treaty, the study offers a chronological outline and a transversal assessment of the CJEU’s case law relating to the second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU. Five years after the CJEU’s seminal judgment in Associação Sindical dos Juízes Portuguese, this Treaty provision has become the main vehicle through which national measures have been brought to the CJEU’s attention, primarily via national requests for a preliminary ruling.

Authors : Laurent PECH

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : This study, commissioned by the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, examines young people’s participation in democratic processes, with a special focus on the European elections. The study inspects the meaning of political participation for contemporary democracies and the dilemmas behind young people's participation and representation. It also assesses, from a youth perspective, the ongoing legislative proposals on European elections and the electoral participation of EU mobile citizens as well as the Citizens’ Proposals adopted in the plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe in May 2022.

Authors : Tomaž DEŽELAN

Summary : This study has been commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee. It analyses the possibilities and challenges regarding unanimity and qualified majority voting as well as the use of passerelle clauses in EU decision-making, with a special focus on the use of qualified majority voting in the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Authors : WESSEL Ramses A., SZÉP Viktor

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, examines the legislative procedures in the Treaties. It focuses on special legislative procedures where either Parliament or the Council adopts an act with the participation (consultation or consent) of the other institution. This should not mean, however, that the participating institution could not influence the substance of the act. Instead, the principles of institutional balance and mutual sincere cooperation require that the opinion of the participating institution be duly taken into account.

Authors : BÖTTNER Robert

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, examines the EU participatory system and its existing participatory channels against mounting citizens’ expectations for greater participation in EU decision-making in the aftermath of the Conference on the Future of Europe. It proposes the creation of a permanent deliberative mechanism entailing the participation of randomly selected citizens tasked to vet proposals originating from either existing participation channels or the EU institutions, in an attempt at making the EU more democratically responsive.

Authors : Alberto ALEMANNO

Summary : This document is a compilation of briefings that track the commitments made by the Vice-Presidents and Commissioners to the European Parliament – in their written answers to Parliament’s questions, at their hearings, and, in some cases, in subsequent appearances before Parliament’s committees. The document provides an overview of the state-of-play at the mid-term of the von der Leyen Commission. Since many of these commitments were made, major international crises have shifted some political priorities. The Vice-Presidents’ and Commissioners’ progress on their commitments should be considered in this context.

Summary : This briefing follows up the commitments made by the commissioner since 2019.

Summary : This briefing follows up the commitments made by the commissioner since 2019.

Summary : This briefing follows up the commitments made by the commissioner since 2019.

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, analyses the evolutions of the modes of governance at EU level. It shows that the so-called Community method has undergone a double evolution towards more intergovernmentalism, on the one hand, and more parliamentarisation, on the other. In particular, in recent years, the first trend has dominated. The study proposes solutions to defend the centrality of the Community method and to increase the Union’s capacity to act in an efficient, integrated and democratic way.

Authors : COSTA Oliver

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, analyses the obstacles to democratic, transparent and efficient decision-making in urgency situations at the EU level, with a specific focus on the European Parliament. It provides a systematic overview of Parliament’s role and functions as well as the interinstitutional cooperation during recent crisis situations and concludes with proposals on how to improve the existing set-up and Parliament’s internal procedures.

Authors : MAURER Andreas

Summary : Ahead of the 2024 European elections, the European Commission has presented a proposal to amend Regulation 1141/2014 governing the statute and funding of European political parties (EUPPs) and foundations. The proposed amendments concern, inter alia, the funding provisions, transparency requirements and enforcement of the rules. This briefing examines the quality of the supporting impact assessment (IA), which outlines the problems encountered in applying the regulation, as identified in recent EU-level reports and through stakeholder input. The range of policy options presented in the IA to address the identified shortcomings is rather limited, although under each option, and for each problem, several alternative measures are considered. Elements of the parallel initiative on political advertising - also part of the European democracy action plan - were integrated into the amending EUPP proposal; however, the IA remains vague on the link between these two initiatives.

Authors : Irmgard ANGLMAYER

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, provides an in-depth analysis of the key proposed changes to Regulation 1141/2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and foundations. It assesses the extent to which the reformed regulation strengthens, as per art. 10(4) TEU, the capacity of Europarties to contribute to forming a European political awareness and expressing the will of EU citizens.

Authors : Edoardo BRESSANELLI, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE and AFCO Committees, offers a comprehensive and critical assessment of the European Commission’s Annual Rule of Law Report. It does so in a broad and holistic manner by assessing this new monitoring tool in light of the EU’s Article 2 TEU monitoring and enforcement architecture. Multiple recommendations are offered in order to remedy the serious gaps and weaknesses identified in this study.

Authors : PECH Laurent, BARD Petra

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : Since the Lisbon Treaty, EU national Parliaments have been recognized as relevant and legitimate players at the supranational level and given tools to be involved beyond the scrutiny of their national government. However, the last decade brought new challenges to the Europeanisation of national Parliaments, with several crises boosting intergovernmentalism. This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, examines how EU national Parliaments have adapted to all these challenges and assesses their involvement in EU affairs over the past decade.

Authors : BRACK Nathalie

Summary : European political parties are transnational political alliances made up of national parties from the same political family. Since July 2004, they have been able to receive funding from the EU general budget. The current Regulation 1141/2014, applicable since 2017, tightened the requirements for parties' recognition, funding and spending. Yet, some parties (and their affiliated foundations) found loopholes in the legal framework. Targeted amendments to the regulation adopted in 2018 and 2019 sought, inter alia, to prevent misuse of public funds, enhance the role of European parties in the European public space, and safeguard the integrity of the European elections by sanctioning breaches of the rules on the protection of personal data. This study examines the operation of the legal framework, ahead of the legislative revision announced by the European Commission in its 2021 work programme, and in support of the evaluation report currently undertaken by the AFCO committee.

Authors : Irmgard ANGLMAYER

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, looks into the main obstacles to unifying and modernising European elections in different Member States. It gives an overview of the implementation of Council Decision 2018/994 and highlights, in particular, the importance of the standardisation and harmonisation of electoral ballots as a means to properly inform voters and strengthen the European party system. As a more general remark, the study concludes that the European and national political parties should further strengthen their relationship, a vital element of the European political system that can increase the transnational nature of European elections.

Authors : Lorenzo CICCHI

Summary : The study analyses the repercussions of the judgment of the German Federal Constitutional Court of 5 May 2020. It puts the decision into context, makes a normative assessment, analyses possible consequences and makes some policy recommendations.

Authors : Niels Petersen - Konstantin Chatziathanasiou

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, looks into the constitutional and institutional challenges that the European Union faced during the Brexit negotiations, and analyses whether the current wording of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union was applied in an adequate manner and allowed for an efficient and properly organised withdrawal procedure.

Authors : PAPAGEORGIOU Ioannis

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, assesses the possible strengthening of the cooperation of the European Union with the Council of Europe. It examines, on the one side, the participation of Council of Europe bodies in the EU Mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights, and, on the other, the accession of the European Union to Council of Europe Treaties, and particularly to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Authors : Luis María LOPEZ GUERRA, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, provides an overview of transparency and integrity-related elements in the current EU setting, covering both substantive elements (including, in particular, conflict of interest and revolving-doors) as well as the body in charge of ethical control and guidance. Based on a comparison covering France, Ireland and Canada, this study proposes an ‘Independent Ethics Body’ (IEB) via a new interinstitutional agreement.

Authors : FRISCHHUT Markus

Summary : This document provides links to all Briefings produced by the Policy Departments of the Directorate-General for Internal Policies and of the Directorate-General for External Policies of the European Parliament, with salient points and essential commitments made by the Vice-Presidents and Commissioners-designates at their respective hearings before the European Parliament, in September-November 2019 and in October 2020. For an exhaustive list of all commitments made and positions taken by the candidates, the full verbatim report of each public hearing is available on the dedicated hearings website of the European Parliament, as are the written questions and answers.

Summary : The European Parliament is the only democratically elected body in the EU. Yet, unlike most parliaments, it has no formal right of legislative initiative. Initiating legislation lies almost solely with the EU's executive bodies, the Commission, and – to a limited but increasing extend – the European Council and the Council. This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, reveals that Parliament’s „own-initiative-reports” form a widely underestimated and unrecognized tool to informally shape the EU’s policy agenda. The study provides for a comprehensive analysis of non-legislative and legislative own-initiative reports. We argue that Parliament is able to create a cooperative environment in order to bring the Commission in line with its own legislative priorities and sometimes very specific legislative requests. Building on the empirical evidence of Parliament’s practice since 1993, we finally discuss means and ways for pragmatic reform and Treaty revision.

Authors : Andreas MAURER, Michael C. WOLF

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, provides a brief overview of the academic debates on Europeanisation as well as contestation and politicisation of the EU and European integration. Against this background, it focuses on the European public sphere(s), in particular those based on the media and parliaments. The study further discusses current reform proposals aiming to Europeanise the European elections and concludes with recommendations on increasing the legitimacy of the European Union.

Authors : Katrin AUEL, Guido TIEMANN

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, assesses the EU responses to counter foreign interferences. It examines in particular the effectiveness of the EU action against foreign interferences in the 2019 European Parliament elections, the COVID-19 crisis and the issue of foreign donations to European political parties. The study concludes with specific policy recommendations to enhance the EU’s responses.

Authors : Edoardo BRESSANELLI, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa (Principal Investigator) Anna DI PALMA, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa Gaetano INGLESE, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa Sofia MARINI, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa Eric REPETTO, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa

Summary : This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, analyses possible avenues for further political integration in the EU after Brexit. The study maps the multiple crises that the EU has weathered in the past decade and explains how these crises, including the recent Covid-19 pandemic, reveal several substantive and institutional weaknesses in the current EU system of governance. The study considers the potentials of the nascent Conference on the Future of Europe to renew the EU and examines the obstacles and opportunities for EU treaty reforms, considering the option of channelling the Conference’s outcome into a new Political Compact, subject to new, less-than-unanimous ratification rules.

Authors : FABBRINI Federico

Summary : One of Parliament’s main tools of political control vis-à-vis the EU executive is its capacity to establish Committees of inquiry. This possibility, now formally recognised in Article 226 TFEU, has existed since 1981 but it has been scarcely used by Parliament. This study provides an analysis of Parliament’s right of inquiry as it stands after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, and examines how it has evolved since it was first introduced. It also compares Parliament’s right of inquiry with the investigatory powers of other European Union institutions and bodies, and with the rules governing the right of inquiry of Member State parliaments. The study concludes with some proposals for reform.

Authors : Diane FROMAGE

Summary : Conducting in-depth investigations is an ancient and essential right of parliaments in Europe. Yet, despite a provision of the Lisbon treaty, the European Parliament still has a limited institutional capacity to conduct inquiries. This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, discusses the theoretical basis of parliamentary investigation, compares recent committees of inquiries and develops recommendations for up-grading the European Parliament’s capacity.

Authors : Olivier ROZENBERG

Summary : This survey, provided by the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, looks into the legal and administrative framework in which parliamentary committees of inquiry operate in the EU Member States. It focuses, in particular, in the investigative powers these committees have at hand to assist national parliaments in exercising parliamentary control. It also examines the role of Member States’ parliamentary committees of inquiry in guiding the action of the government, enhancing transparency and eradicating contraventions and maladministration.

Authors : Eeva PAVY

Summary : The Monthly Highlights publication provides an overview, at a glance, of the on-going work of the policy departments, including a selection of the latest and forthcoming publications, and a list of future events.

Summary : This document is a compilation of all Briefings produced by the Policy Departments of the Directorate-General for Internal Policies and of the Directorate-General for External Policies of the European Parliament, with salient points and essential commitments made by the Vice-Presidents and Commissioners-designates at their respective hearings before the European Parliament, in September-November 2019 and in October 2020. For an exhaustive list of all commitments made and positions taken by the candidates, the full verbatim report of each public hearing is available on the dedicated hearings website of the European Parliament, as are the written questions and answers.

Summary : This briefing includes a series of quotes, which make reference to the oral commitments made during the hearing of Vice-President-designate for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maroš Šefčovič.

Authors : Giorgio Mussa, Roberta PANIZZA

Summary : The Vice President-designate, Dubravka Šuica, appeared before the European Parliament on 03 October 2019 to answer questions from MEPs in the Committees on Constitutional affairs and Employment and social affairs. During the hearing, she made a number of commitments which are highlighted in this document. These commitments refer to her portfolio, as described in the mission letter sent to her by Ursula von der Leyen, President-elect of the European Commission, including: - Conference on the Future of Europe; and - Supporting Europe through the demographic transition.

Authors : Eeva PAVY

Summary : The Vice President-designate, Věra Jourová, appeared before the European Parliament on 07 October 2019 to answer questions from MEPs in the Committees on Constitutional affairs, Civil liberties, justice and home affairs, and Legal affairs. During the hearing, she made a number of commitments which are highlighted in this document. These commitments refer to her portfolio, as described in the mission letter sent to her by Ursula von der Leyen, President-elect of the European Commission, including: á - Strengthening democracy and transparency; and - Upholding Europe’s values and rights.

Authors : Ottavio MARZOCCHI, Eeva PAVY