scholarly journals Influence beyond formal powers: The parliamentarisation of European Union security policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guri Rosén ◽  
Kolja Raube

The European Union’s foreign and security policy is commonly described as an intergovernmental affair. Despite limited formal powers, several studies suggest that the European Parliament has increased its influence on the Union’s foreign and security policy. This article argues that, to gauge the significance of parliamentary participation, it is necessary to look beyond the notion of formal parliamentary rights and to take into account informal influence. The analysis shows how informal avenues of influence are crucial at certain stages of the decision-making process, and points to factors that constrain and enable parliamentary impact. Furthermore, it emphasises the important role that parliaments play in scrutinising security policy, which is a crucial component of democratic governance. In this particular field where there is little legislation, the establishment of solid procedures and practices for oversight and control can also be a significant indicator of parliamentary influence.

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Jeřábek

The paper focuses on the decision-making process in the European Union since approval of the Treaty of Maastricht. Special consideration is dedicated to pillars two and three. The second pillar is connected with Common Foreign and Security Policy, while the third pillar contributes with Justice and Home Affairs. The first part of this paper introduces the major tools which are commonly used and describes how pillars system works. The difference between intergovernmentalism and supranationalism is also addressed. In the second part the paper deals with some important changes under the Treaty of Nice and Treaty of Lisbon. The Treaty of Lisbon will cancel the pillars system, being replaced by one legal personality for the European Union. While the former treaties were partly based on intergovernmentalism, the Treaty of Lisbon is mostly oriented on supranationalism.


Author(s):  
Nataliia Karpchuk

The EU security policy is an inseparable part of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy elaborated within the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy. Sucurity and defence issues are quite vulnerable for any state sovereignty that is why it took Member Statets rather long time to agree on principles, directions and priorities of their common security policy as well as on cooperation with the NATO. With the development of the European Community, in the sphere of security policy a number of structures were established and a number of principled documents were adopted. The article researches the evolution of the EU security policy influenced by external cgallenges and threats


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tapio Raunio ◽  
Wolfgang Wagner

Abstract Parliamentary votes on foreign and security policy have often been demonstrations of patriotism and unity. This resonates with the notion that external relations are exempted from party politics, or that politics stops at the water's edge. Its supranational character makes the European Parliament (EP) a particularly interesting laboratory for subjecting this thesis to empirical scrutiny. Analyzing roll-call votes from 1979 to 2014, this article shows that group cohesion and coalition patterns are no different in external relations votes than in other issue areas. Members of the EP (MEPs) do not rally around a European Union flag, nor do MEPs vote as national blocs in votes on foreign and security policy, trade, and development aid. Based on statistical analyses and interviews with parliamentary civil servants, it concludes that the EP stands out by having party politics dominate all business, including external relations.


Author(s):  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Owen Parker ◽  
Ian Bache ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Charlotte Burns

This chapter examines the pattern of European Union (EU) institutions and the formal rules that govern them. It first considers the Treaties that form the founding ‘constitutional’ documents of the EU, from the Treaty of Paris to the Treaty on Stability, Co-ordination and Governance in the economic and monetary union (EMU), before turning to the main institutions involved in the processes of decision making, namely: the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament, plus two consultative committees, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. The chapter proceeds by analysing the Union method of decision making, focusing on the budgetary and legislative procedures, as well as the process on the Common Foreign and Security Policy. It also discusses the implementation of EU decisions once they have been made, and concludes with some reflections on the post-Lisbon institutional architecture of the EU, including differentiated integration.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramses A. Wessel

Institutional and normative convergence – Common Foreign and Security Policy – Pillar Structure – External Relations – Role of the Court – Normative Consistency – EU Legal Order – Legal Nature CFSP – Treaty of Lisbon – Legal Instruments – Decision-Making


Modern Italy ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Foradori ◽  
Paolo Rosa

SummaryThe article looks at the role of Italy in the decision-making arena of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), analysing the initiatives it put in place to address and influence the construction of a common defence. The article aims to explain the ability or inability of Italy to build up a consensus around its proposals. By studying two initiatives in the field of European defence and security, it seeks to determine the factors which resulted in the differing outcomes of Italian actions at the European level.


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