"Development of the European Parliaments's Powers: An Incomplete Agenda?"

Jacobs, Francis B. (2003) "Development of the European Parliaments's Powers: An Incomplete Agenda?". In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2003 (8th), March 27-29, 2003, pages 22, Nashville, Tennessee.

Abstract

From the Single European Act to the Amsterdam Treaty, successive IGCs led to a continuous increase in the European Parliament's (EP's) powers. In the Nice Treaty, little further progress was made for the Parliament. Have the EP's powers now reached a high water mark, or is there still a substantial agenda to complete? This paper looks briefly at the development of the European Parliament's powers, and then at the gaps that still remain (notably the need for an extension of codecision, a reform in the comitology system, budgetary equality, a strengthened role in EU nominations, and reinforced EP powers in the field of international trade, and as regards other international agreements). The paper argues that it is important that these gaps be filled in the current negotiations stemming from the Convention, but that it will then be time for the EP to move on to a new era, away from a primary emphasis on an institutional agenda and towards a new emphasis on more thorough-going and systematic use of its newly-won powers and influence.