The European Parliament, Supranationalism, and Its Legislative Role

What Is the European Parliament?

The European Parliament (EP) is a democratic part of the government representing the European Union.5 In the case of individual countries, parliaments function as representative bodies, responsible for enacting laws on behalf of the people. The EP is similarly representative, with members being directly elected by the people they serve.5 While interest and hopes were high regarding the prospects of intergovernmental democracy, the reality has been less than stellar, with a result being that every year the turnout for EP elections becoming increasingly scant.5

The EP serves a number of governmental roles in its’ service of the European Union (EU) community. The EP has the right to disband the EU commission, if they have an absolute majority of 2/3 of the voting members in approval.5 The EU commission president also must await approval from the EP before they are permitted to assemble their own team of commissioners, and the EP reserves the right to subject possible commissioners to hearings of their own.5 They also have a hand in appointing members to the Court of Auditors, as well as the president and board of the European Central Bank.5

When the economic crisis of 2008 arose, this thrust the EP into a new role, that of financial governance. Before this time, the major focus in economics was centered on the European Council, the Commission, the Council and the European Central Bank.6 Because the financial crisis affected the entire region, and because national parliaments generally focus on only things pertaining to their individual countries, the EP became a place where national divides could be placed on the table and openly debated.6 They have also played a role in increasing the influence of the Commission and Court of Justice as engines of integration.7

What Is Its Legislative Role in the European Union?

While national parliaments have legal right to craft legislation, the EP holds more of an advisory role. In some areas, the EP has more influence than others. The EP functions as a consultation process, where other nations must give its’ rulings at least a hearing.5 With the passage of the Single European Act (SEA), the EP gained powers in the area of internal market legislation, with the ability to veto or amend commission proposals.5 Because the EP does not have true legislative powers, this can lead to difficulties in its ability to lead the EU. For example, if the EP advances a proposal, and two pivotal member states have opposing opinions about how the policy should be written or enacted, then gridlock can occur.8

Because of the ratification of the SEA and subsequent ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999, the EP has become coequal with the Council, forming what can be considered a bicameral EU legislature.3 This new legislative power, given the fact that the EP is elected directly by the people, would then give the people a more direct representation in international law.4 Within the new bicameral arrangement, when there is a vote, there is a requirement of a qualified majority in Council, and an absolute majority within the EP. Under their function of advice and consent, the EP can either amend or reject proposals from the Commission. If the Commission wishes to override the EP’s advice or refusal, they must have an agreement between both the Commission and a unanimous Council.3 One way that the EP flexed their muscles in this arena was in their 2011 vetoing of a bilateral agreement between the US and the EU to share financial messaging data of individuals, including EU citizens stored by a private company in the EU, SWIFT.4 While the legislative capacity initially only applied to the internal market of the EU, the Maastricht Treaty expanded this reach to include areas such as culture, consumer protection, education, and public health.3

What Is Supranationalism?

Supranationalism is a state where there are governing bodies or institutions that represent groups of nations such as the European Union that have central governing bodies that make decisions for the EU as a whole. While normal administrative bodies get their authority from their countries’ sovereign status, the EP gains its’ administrative power from the joint agreement between the EU, Council, and Committees.9 The EC, therefore, functions primarily in an administrative way.9 Where normal governments obtain their power from the direct election by those whom they represent, the legitimacy of the EU springs from power that is transferred lawfully by national parliaments, functioning as representatives of their individual national communities.9

Supranationalism occurs when individual communities wish to band forces to obtain benefits that they would otherwise not be able to enjoy on their own. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a transatlantic organization created by ten nations in Europe as well as the United States and Canada, with the intent of stemming Soviet advances.1 This organization does not have power to make laws, but depends upon consensus of the new twenty-eight nations that it represents. The idea behind the organization was to have a collective defense, something that was called upon after the September 11 terrorist attacks.1

The advances of supranationalism do not occur without some concern on the part of citizens who are under the influence of such organizations. There was a fear that when the economic crisis hit Europe that supranationalization would mean that the EP and EC would be taking on greater roles, however this did not happen.7 Intergovernmental treaties were signed shortly after the crisis, the Fiscal Compact and the European Stability Mechanism Treaty. One of these empowered the Commission to a limited degree, and the other not at all.

How Is the European Parliament Connected to Supranationalism?

As a body that represents individuals from multiple countries with the ability to influence legislation that surpasses national boundaries, the EP is a supranational body. As part of the bicameral legislature along with the European Community, the EP has the ability to influence laws that affect people in multiple nations.3,4 Because the Commission of the European Community is subject to approval by the EP, the EP can have influence over who serves in this body and who does not.9 While generally, the EP does not get involved in cases that are specific to one of the countries within the EU, there are times when they must, such as when the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) disease struck the British cattle market.

When this disease was identified and tied to British beef, the European Commission (governing body of the EU) and the European Parliament joined to ban export of British Beef to other EU states, as well as any other country.10 This is a direct demonstration of how a supranational body can have a direct impact on the livelihoods of citizens of a particular country. A situation that will pull the EP into even more focus is the impending exit of Britain from the EU, also known as Brexit.

Once the British government has concluded their exit from the EU, the EP will be the body responsible for negotiating any deals between Britain and the 27 member countries of the EU.11 Early indications from the Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee indicate that the EP may look on this as an opportunity to streamline relationships with other countries outside of the EU that either cannot or are unwilling to join the EU, but still wish to have close relationships with countries represented in the EU. The whole EP will have to vote on the Committee’s recommendations to determine how they wish to proceed before Britain exercises Article 50 and officially departs the EU

Conclusion

As this paper has outlined, the European Parliament (EP) is a governmental body that is directly elected, but represents interests among the 27 member-states of the European Union. Although very limited in legislative abilities initially, the powers of the EP have increased as time has progressed. As a supranational organization, the EP can pass laws that can benefit the whole EU but can cause harm to individual members of member-states, as they did when the BSE scare happened with British Beef. However, in order for the EU to function smoothly, the EP has become a necessary body that unites and creates smooth operations for the member states who are part of the European Community. This has especially been demonstrated in the case of the impending exit of the nation of Britain from the EU. The EP will arise to a new role in this case, one of negotiator between Britain and the other 27 member-states of the EU. While the early indications are that this transition will go smoothly, only time will tell the exact stance that the entire EP will take in the negotiations and laws they set for that will mandate what the relationship will be between Britain and its nearest neighbors.

References

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11. Cooper H. How the European Parliament will play Brexit. Politico. http://www.politico.eu/article/how-the-european-parliament-will-play-brexit/. Published December 9, 2016. Accessed February 25, 2017.