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Relations Between the European Council and the European Parliament

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Relations Between the European Council and the European Parliament Relations between the European Council and the European Parliament Institutional and political dynamics STUDY EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Author: Desmond Dinan European Council Oversight Unit PE 630.288 – November 2018 EN Relations between the European Council and the European Parliament Institutional and political dynamics This study explores the development of relations between the European Council (of Heads of State or Government) and the European Parliament, two institutions that have become increasingly central to the operation of the European Union political system, especially since the 2009 Lisbon Treaty. It explains the Treaty framework for relations between the two institutions and traces their practical evolution over time, including an analysis of the roles of the presidents of each institution in such interaction. It also examines points of contention in the relationship to date, including in relation to 'legislative trespassing' by the European Council and the Spitzenkandidaten process. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service AUTHOR This study has been written by Desmond Dinan, Ad Personam Jean Monnet Chair and Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, Virginia, United States, at the request of the European Council Oversight Unit of the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS). Professor Dinan completed this work during his half-year as a Visiting Fellow at EPRS. ADMINISTRATOR RESPONSIBLE Astrid Worum, European Council Oversight Unit, EPRS To contact the publisher, please e-mail [email protected] LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN Manuscript completed in September 2018. DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT This document is prepared for, and addressed to, the Members and staff of the European Parliament as background material to assist them in their parliamentary work. The content of the document is the sole responsibility of its author(s) and any opinions expressed herein should not be taken to represent an official position of the Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. Brussels © European Union, 2018. PE 630.288 ISBN: 978-92-846-3475-0 DOI:10.2861/216586 QA-06-18-285-EN-N [email protected] http://www.eprs.ep.parl.union.eu (intranet) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank (internet) http://epthinktank.eu (blog) Relations between the European Council and the European Parliament Executive summary The most notable change in the European Union's institutional architecture since the beginning of the European project was the launch in 1975 of the European Council, which became a formal institution in 2009. From the outset, the European Council has had a profound impact on the EU's development. The dynamism of the EU system is apparent also in the rising prominence of the European Parliament (EP). Both institutions were major beneficiaries of successive rounds of Treaty reform; both benefited as well from the EU's rapidly widening policy scope and growing political importance, with the European Council assuming more and more responsibility for setting the agenda, providing direction, and taking key decisions, and the EP acquiring greater power and prestige as the only directly elected institution at the European level. The differences between the two institutions are nonetheless striking. The European Council, consisting principally of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, is a forum for promoting and reconciling national interests; the EP is a supranational body, the majority of whose members sit in trans-national political groups. The European Council is the EU's emergent political executive; the EP is part of the EU's legislature. The European Council surveys EU affairs from on high; the EP is deep in the trenches of European integration. Despite their different character and purpose, the European Council and the EP view each other with circumspection. Their relationship is not inherently antagonistic, but nonetheless generates friction. Specifically, the EP is wary of the European Council's increasing involvement in a range of policy areas going well beyond those traditionally associated with intergovernmentalism. The EP is also concerned about accountability and transparency regarding the work of the European Council. For its part, the European Council is happy to keep the EP at arm's length. Subject, in most cases, to national parliamentary scrutiny of their activities, the Heads of State or Government enjoy operating in the European Council relatively free of EP scrutiny. Although the European Council and the EP occupy separate spheres of EU activity, the conduct of certain policies and procedures brings them together, as does the interaction between the President of the European Council and the leadership of the EP, notably the speech by the EP President at the beginning of every regular meeting of the European Council, and the report by the European Council President to the EP after every such occasion, followed by a Parliamentary debate. The onset of the crisis years added a layer of complexity to European Council-EP relations, with the European Council meeting more frequently and acting more decisively in a range of policy areas, and the EP chafing at the European Council's apparent high-handedness, opacity, and unaccountability. Personal factors have sometimes complicated this political and institutional rivalry, as various European Council Presidents and European Parliament leaders have interacted with each other in different ways. This study analyses European Council-EP relations, a crucial though so far under-researched part of the EU's institutional evolution, largely in the post-Lisbon Treaty period. It begins with a discussion of the recent rise of the two institutions, notably in the form of new intergovernmentalism and assertive parliamentarianism, and the implications of this development for the EU's institutional landscape. This section also links the European Council and the EP in the ways that they help to strengthen the EU's democratic legitimacy, both formally and informally. The next section outlines the Lisbon Treaty framework, which embeds European Council-EP relations. The study goes on to identify key interlocutors in European Council-EP relations, before assessing the quality of their interaction. The penultimate section explores points of contention in the relationship. The conclusions reiterate key topics and themes previously discussed in the study, and raise the possibility of the EP President's greater participation in the European Council. I EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Table of contents 1. Introduction _________________________________________________________________ 1 2. A changing institutional landscape _____________________________________________ 3 3. The Treaty framework for European Council-European Parliament relations _________ 7 3.1. The European Council's institutional existence ___________________________________ 7 3.2. Treaty articles relevant to European Council-European Parliament interaction __________ 8 3.3. The European Parliament's initial reaction _______________________________________ 9 4. European Council-European Parliament interlocutors ___________________________ 11 4.1. The European Council President ______________________________________________ 11 4.2. European Parliament leaders ________________________________________________ 14 5. European Council-European Parliament interactions ____________________________ 18 5.1. The European Parliament President at the European Council _______________________ 18 5.2. The European Council President at the European Parliament _______________________ 21 6. Points of contention ________________________________________________________ 29 6.1. Governance ______________________________________________________________ 29 6.2. Institutional balance _______________________________________________________ 31 6.2.1. Response to the euro crisis ________________________________________________ 31 6.2.2. Crossing boundaries _____________________________________________________ 37 6.3. Changing the Lisbon Treaty and negotiating new treaties _________________________ 42 6.4. Institutional affairs _________________________________________________________ 43 6.4.1. The Spitzenkandidaten process ____________________________________________ 43 6.4.2. Composition of the EP ___________________________________________________ 49 6.4.3. The European Central Bank _______________________________________________ 50 7. Conclusions ________________________________________________________________ 51 8. References and sources ______________________________________________________ 55 II Relations between the European Council and the European Parliament 1. Introduction The institutional architecture of the European Union (EU) has remained relatively stable over time. Apart from the emergence of independent, non-majoritarian institutions and agencies, the most notable change to the EU's original design, consisting of the Commission, the Parliament, the Council, and the Court, was the launch in 1975 of the European Council, although it did not become a formal institution until 2009. From the outset, however, the European Council has had a profound impact on the EU's development. EU institutional roles and responsibilities have always
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