Consensus and the Proportionality of Office Distribution in the European Parliament, 1994-2007

Benedetto, Giacomo. (2007) Consensus and the Proportionality of Office Distribution in the European Parliament, 1994-2007 . In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2007 (10th), May 17-19, 2007, pages 47, Montreal, Canada.

Abstract

Consensus is embedded in the European Parliament. One of its forms is in the proportionality that applies between political groups in the distribution of office positions, such as Committee Chairman or Bureau members, that affect policy outcomes. Consensus has withstood successive institutional change and enlargement of Parliament’s membership in 2004. The paper links empirical evidence with theory to question the assumption that Parliament is internally competitive. Members of the European Parliament achieve outcomes they desire either by allying with elements in other institutions or challenging them convincingly. For this to be attained, the construction of multi-party consensus by sharing office across an oversized majority is indispensable.