European Parliament

  • The EPP vs. populism: the battle for EU values

    The EPP vs. populism: the battle for EU values0

    During times of crisis or discontent, people’s political preferences tend to adjust from mostly centrist towards more extreme ends of the spectrum, be it either left or right. The European far-right has been on the rise over the last few years. Populists have gained ground across the continent and Euroscepticism seems to be thriving, even against a much bigger pro-European movement. The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) is the biggest political group in the European Parliament and has been a steady pro-European factor for years. However, its position could soon be compromised.

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  • Does faster legislation come at the cost of transparency?

    Does faster legislation come at the cost of transparency?0

    One of the main goals of the post-Lisbon Institutional reforms was to make EU decision-making more efficient. Following many claims that EU legislative processes are overly bureaucratized, the main goal of such efforts was to make the EU law-making more fit for the many ongoing challenges requiring great institutional re-activeness. The result of such fitness operation is quite striking.

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  • Changing everything so that nothing changes? The future of UK seats in the EP

    Changing everything so that nothing changes? The future of UK seats in the EP0

    As the 2019 elections get closer, the future allocation of 73 UK seats in the European Parliament remains an unsolved conundrum. The long-debated proposal of substituting them with a pan-European list of candidates from European Political parties is welcomed with enthusiasm by the Brussels establishment. However, little attention is often devoted to its indirect consequences if not well thought through: more power to bigger Member States, whose candidates would emerge as privileged, and institutional deadlock, as a unanimity of Member States is required to agree according to the rules on Treaty Change.

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  • European parliament, democratic deficit and another missed opportunity

    European parliament, democratic deficit and another missed opportunity0

    For an organization that is so often called out because of its democratic deficit, it is astonishing how the European Union missed out on yet another opportunity to get closer to its citizens. On 17th January a new president of the European Parliament was elected, and Antonio Tajani took over from Martin Schulz. What I would like to point the attention to is, how many Europeans knew the election was taking place? Or how many Europeans knew who the candidates for the new EP president were? Be honest – is your hand up?

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  • Healing the European patient – Narrowing the gap between the EU and its citizens

    Healing the European patient – Narrowing the gap between the EU and its citizens0

    It has been a rough couple of years for the EU with much debate in academia on its various deficiencies. However, with the financial crisis, the almost Grexit, the refugee crisis and now the Brexit, these struggles have also entered the everyday life of ordinary citizens. For many EU enthusiasts the past years of crisis seemed more like a minor hiccup, a difficult period that could be overcome if everyone just kept on moving forward. Yet, the Brexit vote changed everything.

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