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Buch Neisser.Indb EUROPAWISSENSCHAFTLICHE REIHE, BAND 2 innsbruck university press Doris Dialer, Eva Lichtenberger, Heinrich Neisser (Hrsg.) Das Europäische Parlament Institution, Vision und Wirklichkeit Doris Dialer Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Universität Innsbruck Referentin im Europäischen Parlament Eva Lichtenberger Mitglied des Europäischen Parlaments Stellvertretende Faktionsvorsitzende der Grünen/EFA Heinrich Neisser Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Universität Innsbruck Gedruckt mit Unterstützung des Vizerektorats für Forschung der Universität Innsbruck. © innsbruck university press, 2010 Universität Innsbruck, Vizerektorat für Forschung 1. Auflage Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Umschlag: Gregor Sailer Titelbild: © Europäisches Parlament (Audiovisuelle Medien) Satz: Palli und Palli OEG, Innsbruck www.uibk.ac.at/iup ISBN 978-3-902719-47-8 Vorwort des Präsidenten des Europäischen Parlaments Die EU steht vor enormen Aufgaben: Klimaschutz, Bewältigung der Finanz-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialkrise. Das Europäische Parlament wird dabei eine immer wichtigere Rolle spielen, denn durch den Vertrag von Lissabon hat es an Kompetenzen und Befugnissen dazugewonnen. Mit fortschreitender Integration wird das Europäische Parlament immer mehr aus dem Schatten von Kommission und Rat treten. Es ist mir ein Anliegen, dass die Bürgerinnen und Bürger Europas mehr über das Europäi- sche Parlament erfahren und es mehr und mehr als Vertreter ihrer Interessen wahrnehmen. Information weiterzugeben und möglichen Vorbehalten entgegenzuwirken erfordert Arbeit, in erster Linie europäische Öffentlichkeitsarbeit. Dazu gehört auch die wissenschaftliche Aufbereitung, die im Falle des vorliegenden Buches direkt aus der parlamentarischen Praxis kommt. Schon in meiner Zeit als Abgeordneter des Europäischen Parlaments und als aktiver Wis- senschaftler war ich mehrfach mit den Förderungsaktivitäten und den Forschungsinitiativen der Europäischen Union befasst. Selbstverständlich ist es daher auch für mich als Präsident dieser europäischen Volksvertretung ein besonderes Anliegen, dass die Arbeits- und Funkti- onsweise des Europäischen Parlaments studiert und erforscht werden. Das vorliegende Buch leistet nicht nur einen wertvollen Beitrag zur „Europaforschung“ und wissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung im deutschsprachigen Raum, es trägt auch zur Infor- mation der europäischen Zivilgesellschaft bei. Wissen über das Parlament erzeugt Interesse und nur so entsteht politische Akzeptanz. Wer das Innenleben des Europäischen Parlaments in seiner Komplexität begreifen will, sollte dieses Buch lesen. Das Europäische Parlament vereint Nationen, politische Fraktionen, Kulturen und Sprachen. In seiner Zusammensetzung und in seiner Arbeitsweise werden der Reichtum und die Viel- falt des europäischen Kontinents sichtbar. Dieses Buch wird dem in bemerkenswerter Weise gerecht. Es ist ein wichtiger Beitrag zur parlamentarischen Diskussion über nationale Gren- zen hinweg. Jerzy Buzek Vorwort des Leiters des Informationsbüros des Europäischen Parlaments für Österreich Die europäische Zusammenarbeit ist nicht nur eine politische Notwendig- keit, sondern täglich gelebte Realität. Das Projekt eines gemeinsamen Eu- ropa kann jedoch nur dann erfolgreich gelingen, wenn die BürgerInnen an der Ausgestaltung Europas teilhaben können. Dazu bedarf es geeigneter Instrumente, vor allem aber Informationen darüber, wer was wie in Europa entscheidet und wie diese Entscheidungsabläufe zu beeinfl ussen sind. Die gestiegene Wahlbeteiligung bei der Europawahl im Juni 2009 in Österreich hat in die- sem Zusammenhang gezeigt, dass den ÖsterreicherInnen die zunehmende Bedeutung des Europäischen Parlaments durchaus bewusst ist. Dennoch wissen immer noch viel zu viele Menschen in Europa über die politischen Abläufe in Brüssel und Straßburg zu wenig Be- scheid. Das vorliegende Buch wird zweifelsohne zum Abbau dieses Mankos beitragen. Dies ersetzt allerdings nicht die Verpfl ichtung der europäischen Akteure, mit den von ihnen ver- tretenen BürgerInnen einen aktiven und umfassenden Dialog zu führen. Das Europäische Parlament ist sich dieser Verantwortung bewusst und unterhält aus diesem Grunde in allen Mitgliedstaaten Informationsbüros. Diese haben die Aufgabe, über das Eu- ropäische Parlament und die Arbeit seiner Abgeordneten zu informieren. Dies ist heute umso wichtiger, als das Europaparlament mit dem Vertrag von Lissabon in praktisch allen Berei- chen der europäischen Gesetzgebung und des europäischen Haushaltes den Regierungen der Mitgliedstaaten in der Entscheidungsfi ndung gleichgestellt ist. In Wien ist das Informationsbüro des Europäischen Parlaments gemeinsam mit der Ver- tretung der Europäischen Kommission im neuen „Haus der Europäischen Union“ unterge- bracht. Mit diesem neuen „Treffpunkt Europa“ haben die beiden EU-Büros nicht nur neue Büroräumlichkeiten erhalten, sondern es wurde vor allem ein Ort geschaffen, an dem inte- ressierte BürgerInnen untereinander und mit Vertretern der europäischen Institutionen über europäische Fragen in Dialog treten können. Wolfgang Hiller Vorwort des Herausgebers der Europawissenschaftlichen Reihe Der europäische Einigungsprozess hat die politische Landschaft unseres Kontinentes ent- scheidend verändert. Heute sind die meisten europäischen Staaten in einer Union vereint, die eine Staatengemeinschaft mit besonderen Strukturen und einem spezifi schen institutionellen Gefüge ist. Die Europäische Union, die nach herrschender Auffassung zwar kein Staat, aber ein politisches System ist, ist Anknüpfungspunkt für die Forschung in verschiedenen wissen- schaftlichen Disziplinen: Geschichtswissenschaft, Politikwissenschaft, Soziologie, Rechts- wissenschaft, Ökonomie, Kulturwissenschaften – sie alle beschäftigen sich zunehmend mit dem Phänomen eines Staatenverbundes, der von einer außergewöhnlichen Komplexität ist. Die Europawissenschaftliche Reihe im Rahmen der innsbruck university press dient dem Zweck, einem interessierten Leserpublikum die Dynamik und Eigenart des europäischen Integrationsprozesses näherzubringen. Dabei sollen sowohl theoretische Gesichtspunkte als auch Perspektiven der praktischen Integrationspolitik einbezogen werden. Der vorliegende zweite Band der Reihe befasst sich mit einer Institution, die von ihrer Ent- wicklung und ihrer Rolle im Institutionensystem der Europäischen Union eine besondere Beachtung verdient. Das Europäische Parlament ist seit der erstmaligen Direktwahl im Jahr 1979 – also seit mehr als 30 Jahren – das einzig direkt demokratisch legitimierte Organ auf Gemeinschaftsebene. Die vorliegende Publikation hat für die Europawissenschaftliche Reihe, für deren redaktio- nelle Betreuung ich verantwortlich zeichne, eine besondere Bedeutung. Sie ist ein wichtiger und informativer Beitrag zur Europaforschung. Das Buch vereint eine große Zahl von Au- toren, die vor allem durch ihre praktische Erfahrung ein lebendiges Bild der Binnenstruktur des Europäischen Parlaments vermitteln können. Die bessere Kenntnis der Wirklichkeit des Europäischen Parlaments ist eine Bereicherung und ein Gewinn für die Europaforschung. Heinrich Neisser Inhaltsverzeichnis Vorwort des Präsidenten des Europäischen Parlaments . 5 Jerzy Buzek Vorwort des Leiters des Informationsbüros des Europäischen Parlaments für Österreich . 7 Wolfgang Hiller Vorwort des Herausgebers der Europawissenschaftlichen Reihe . 9 Heinrich Neisser Abkürzungen und Akronyme . 15 Einleitung . 25 Abschnitt I: Eine erste Annäherung . 31 Das Europäische Parlament – ein Arbeitsparlament par excellence . 33 Doris Dialer Das Europäische Parlament als Fokus demokratischer Legitimität . 55 Heinrich Neisser Das Europäische Parlament nach dem Lissabon-Vertrag . 77 Elmar Brok Die Europawahlen 2009 in Österreich . 89 Flooh Perlot / Eva Zeglovits Im Zweifelsfalle für Europa. Medien und Parteien als nationale Stimmungsmacher für die Wahl, die keiner will . 103 Peter Plaikner Neue Medien, Web 2.0 in der Politik des Europäischen Parlaments . 127 Eva Lichtenberger Inhaltsverzeichnis 12 Abschnitt II: Die parlamentarischen Ausschüsse . 145 Die Ausschüsse des Europäischen Parlaments – Nuklei der politischen Arbeit . 147 Doris Dialer Der Industrieausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments – Akteure und Verfahren . 165 Herbert Reul Der Ausschuss für Landwirtschaft und ländliche Entwicklung (AGRI) . 177 Albert Deß Schon der Name ist Programm: Der Ausschuss für bürgerliche Freiheiten, Justiz und Inneres . 191 Alexander Alvaro Die Rolle der Berichterstatter: TRAN . 205 Vanessa Aulehla Das Europäische Parlament – im Visier der Lobbyisten . 217 Olaf Münichsdorfer Abschnitt III: Das Fraktionsgefüge . 225 Entwicklungsgeschichte der Fraktionen im Europäischen Parlament . 227 Heike Merten Innenleben und Interaktion von Fraktionen des Europäischen Parlaments . 239 Othmar Karas Political Leadership: Die Fraktionsvorsitzenden des Europäischen Parlaments . 257 Doris Dialer Zweckgemeinschaft oder Wunschpartnerschaft? Die Parteienzusammenarbeit von Grünen und Europäischer Freier Allianz auf europäischer Ebene . 279 Jürgen Mittag / Julia Krüger Funktion der Koordinatoren der Fraktion: CULT – Kultur- und Bildungsausschuss . 301 Christa Prets 13 Inhaltsverzeichnis Die Assistenten der Abgeordneten . 309 Margarethe Richter Abschnitt IV: Die außenpolitische Sonderrolle des Europäischen Parlaments . 327 Parlamentarische Diplomatie des Europäischen Parlaments . 329 Michael Gahler / Gerrit F. Schlomach Wahlbeobachtungen des Europäischen Parlaments . 343 Stefan Pfi tzner Die USA-Delegation – Teil der transatlantischen Beziehungen . 355 Erika Mann Brückenbauer in Krisenzeiten.
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