Cross-pressure and political representation in Europe A comparative study of MEPs and the intra-party arena Statsvetenskapliga institutionen Umeå universitet Statsvetenskapliga institutionens skriftserie, 2003:5 ISSN 0349-0831 ISBN 91-7305-493-3 © Magnus Blomgren Tryck: Print & Media, Umeå universitet, 2003: II Cross-pressure and political representation in Europe A comparative study of MEPs and the intra-party arena Magnus Blomgren Department of Political Science Umeå university III Cross-pressure and political representation in Europe: A comparative study of MEPs and the intra-party arena. Magnus Blomgren, Department of Political Science, Umeå university, S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden ISBN 91-7305-493-3 ISSN 0349-0831 Research report 2003:5 Distribution: Department of Political Science, Umeå university, S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden ABSTRACT This dissertation explores political representation and its manifestation within the European Union (EU). The main purpose is to examine the representative roles of Members of the European Parliament (MEP) in the context of cross–pressure between the national level and the EU level. This involves an analysis of how the MEPs under- stand their roles, how they organize their work, and how they have voted in the European Parliament (EP) in 1999-2002. It also includes a study of how national party organizations adapt to the EU environment and how this influences the MEPs link to the national arena. The study is based on various sources, such as interviews, formal documents and voting data. The most under-researched part of the cross-pressure has been the national link and the empirical focus of the thesis is on that link. It is a comparative study of parties in Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden. In each country, three parties were selected (social democratic, right-wing and green parties). By using a focused comparative method, and by controlling for certain independent variables, the ambition is to go beyond description and identify explanations for why MEPs adopt certain roles. The overall picture that emerges is of a relatively weak link between MEPs and the national level. To a certain extent, MEPs express frustration over their limited role in the national arena and over the lack of input from the national arena in their work at the European level. Most of the parties struggle to include MEPs in their organizational set-up, and the MEPs experience a growing hostility within the parties toward them. In general, the lack of interest and knowledge in the national arena, concerning the EU in general and specifically the work of the MEPs, obscures the role of the MEPs. They become EU ambassadors at the national level, rather than elected representatives at the EU level. The dissertation also tests variables that are thought to influence MEPs’ roles: the type of electoral system, popular opinion on EU issues, whether their party is in government, the party’s ideological heritage, and if the party organizes more advanced coordination mechanisms. The main result is that the working assumption that MEPs are influenced by characteristics in the national arena is shown to be largely correct. That is, some of the identified aspects of the national political context do influence how the MEPs understand their roles. For example, the character of the electoral system influences attitudes among the MEPs. However, that relationship is not as simple and straightforward as much of the literature suggests. Rather, the results in this study suggest that the most important aspect of the relationship between the national level and the MEPs is whether parties or others (such as national parliamentarians) actively engage in the work of the MEPs. It matters how parties design the relationship between the levels, especially for how and where MEPs direct their main attention, but also in terms of how MEPs vote in the EP. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of further research into how parties facilitate the link between the national and the EU level. Key words: European integration, European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament, MEPs voting behavior, party delegations, party groups, political parties, Political representation, representative roles IV Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS VII NATIONAL PARTIES AND ACRONYMS IN THE TEXT IX COMMON ACRONYMS IN THE TEXT X FIGURES AND TABLES XI INTRODUCTION 1 MEPS SITUATED IN TWO POLITICAL ARENAS 4 WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE MEPS? 4 THE APPROACH IN THIS STUDY 13 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK 16 REPRESENTATION, NEW INSTITUTIONALISM AND ROLE THEORY 19 THE CONCEPT OF REPRESENTATION 20 REPRESENTATION, ROLES AND INSTITUTIONS 26 WHAT IS THERE TO BE EXPLAINED, WHAT ARE POLITICAL ROLES? 33 THE USE OF ROLE THEORY IN THIS STUDY 39 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 44 HYPOTHESES ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NATIONAL LEVEL 47 A MODEL TO UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT REPRESENTATIVE NORMS AMONG MEPS 56 METHODOLOGY, METHOD AND SOURCES 63 THE RESEARCH DESIGN AND THE SELECTION OF CASES 64 TRIANGULATION AS A STRATEGY 69 WRITTEN MATERIAL 70 INTERVIEWS 71 ROLL-CALL VOTES 80 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 82 SUMMARY 84 MEPS AND THEIR NATIONAL CONTEXT 87 ELECTORAL SYSTEMS 88 INTRA-PARLIAMENTARY RELATIONSHIPS 97 THE SELECTED PARTIES 107 THE SELECTED CASES AND THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 121 V DEVICES FOR MONITORING THE MEPs IN THE NATIONAL PARTY ORGANIZATIONS 127 CANDIDATE SELECTION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 128 ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE MEPS ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL 144 ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRAINTS IN COMPARISON 161 THE INTRA-PARTY SURROUNDINGS PUT TOGETHER 166 CONTACTS BETWEEN THE MEPS AND THE NATIONAL ARENA 173 COORDINATION IN GENERAL FROM AN MEPS PERSPECTIVE 174 PATTERN OF CONTACTS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL 179 PROBLEMS WITH THE LINK TO THE NATIONAL LEVEL 193 CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE LEVELS 197 ORIENTED TOWARD THE NATIONAL OR THE EU LEVEL 205 CONCLUSION 211 MEPS AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVE ROLES 215 BEING A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIAN 216 WHO DO THE MEPS REPRESENT? 223 REPRESENTING INTERESTS ON THE NATIONAL OR THE EP LEVEL 233 REPRESENTATIVE ROLES AND THE LINK BETWEEN THE ARENAS 242 CONCLUSION 247 MEP VOTING BEHAVIOR 253 THE GENERAL PICTURE OF THE EPG’S COHESIVENESS 255 VOTING PATTERN DURING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EPD AND THE EPG 261 CONFLICTS BETWEEN EPDS AND EPGS IN THE SELECTED CASES 267 VOTING BEHAVIOR DURING CRITICAL VOTES 270 EXPLAINING VOTING BEHAVIOR 275 NOT PRESENT TO VOTE, WHY? 281 CONCLUSIONS 286 CONCLUSION 291 THE LINK BETWEEN THE LEVELS AND THE ROLE OF THE MEPS 292 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CASES – WHAT EXPLAINS WHY MEPS ADOPT DIFFERENT ROLES AND HOW THEY VOTE? 298 THE FRUITFULNESS OF THE APPROACH 311 CROSS-PRESSURE AND REPRESENTATION IN EUROPE 315 LIST OF REFERENCES 319 LIST OF INTERVIEWS 336 APPENDIX I-IV 340 VI Acknowledgments To write a dissertation is certainly a lonely enterprise. At the same time, you are dependent on a number of people who engage in your project and support your ambitions. This dissertation would never have been written if it were not for the support, guidance and inspiration from my supervisor Torbjörn Bergman. He included me in the project on Constitutional Change and Parliamentary Democracy, financed by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation (1996-0801). This project has financially supported my work as well as giving me important insights into the process of writing political science. However, Torbjörn’s support goes further than that. Sometimes I have unfairly blamed him for getting me into this mess, but in the end this has been a lifetime’s experience that I would not want to be without. Torbjörn’s patience and kindness is remarkable and all the long hours of discussions have made life easier, when things have not gone well. Sure, we have disagreed from time to time, but I am the kind of person who thinks that disagreements make life more interesting. I am in incalculable debt to Torbjörn for all these years. I have also had the fortune to have Kjell Lundmark and Nick Aylott as assistant supervisors. Kjell shared his experience and clarity in the beginning of the project and Nick contributed with his deep knowledge on the inner life of party organizations at the end. I am grateful to you both. We all appreciate having Svante Ersson nearby. Over the years, Svante has discussed several chapters in this dissertation at the seminars of the Political Science Department in Umeå. You can always be sure that he will come up with sober and constructive remarks. Svante is extremely generous with his time and knowledge and it is easy to overuse his capacity. It is too seldom that he receives the gratitude that he deserves. Thanks for all your help! During the process of writing a dissertation, texts are presented and discussed at conferences and seminars. This is an important part of the intellectual development. Several people have taken their time to read the texts and given me criticisms as well as support. I am grateful to you all! I particularly want to acknowledge the collegial efforts of Cindy Kite and Niklas Eklund. You have substantially contributed to my work. VII The life of an academic department is not only work. I am especially grateful to Camilla Sandström for being a good roommate, as well as a friend during hard times and good times, and to Malin Rönnblom for always being eager to discuss life and politics, as well as being a fellow jazz fan. Thanks also to Lovisa Hagberg, Thomas Larue, Eva Mineur, and all the rest for just being there. During the work with this dissertation I had the fortune to spend a year at Berkeley in California. This was in many respects a wonderful time. It made me think about politics and political science in a different way and it gave me experience that would be hard to get elsewhere. This year would never have been possible without the support and help from Gunnel Gustafsson.