“The Actual Agenda-Setting Abilities of the European Parliament: The Imprint of the EP on European Union Environmental Policy”

DeLong, Scott MacGregor. (1999) “The Actual Agenda-Setting Abilities of the European Parliament: The Imprint of the EP on European Union Environmental Policy” . In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 1999 (6th), June 2-5, 1999, pages 38, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Abstract

This paper offers evidence to support the arguments of the integrationists. I argue that the EP has exerted more influence on policy than is generally recognized-even prior to passage of the treaty amendments of the 1980s and 1990s. The EP also used its original meager powers to gain both incremental increases in power and to persuade the member states of the necessity for major constitutional changes. One legal writer has observed that: “Power is rarely, if ever given up to democratic institutions; it more often has to be seized. The growth in the powers of the [European] Parliament has resulted from its willingness to do so when an opportunity has presented itself” (Crossick 1989). This has been a major task of the European Parliament since its inception. It has had to fight to realize even the minimal rights granted it in the Treaty of Rome. It took more than 20 years, for example, before member states allowed direct elections to be held for EP seats, in spite of the fact that the Treaty called for this to occur. The EP has also stretched existing powers to their breaking-point, invented others, and litigated before the Court of Justice to win additional rights and prerogatives that are generally considered to be basic components of a legislature’s duties. I contend that the EP has had great success with this strategy.