Subnational Parliaments In The Eu Multi Level Parliamentary System

SUBNATIONAL OR REGIONAL PARLIAMENTS with legislative competences are increasingly active in EU affairs and are recognized as POTENTIAL ACTORS IN THE EU'S MULTI-LEVEL SYSTEM BY EU LAW. However, studies on the territorial effects of European integration and on the Europeanization of parliaments as well as parliamentarism have so far disregarded this group of parliaments. In the existing theoretical concepts of 'multi-level parliamentarism' subnational parliaments do not have a place until now. The book addresses this theoretical and empirical gap. Referring TO STUDIES ON PARLIAMENTARISM, FEDERALISM, AND EUROPEANIZATION the contributions discuss how to include subnational parliaments in the existing research. A total of 74 subnational parliaments from eight member states is affected by the new system, which allows them to participate in the so-called Early Warning Mechanism of subsidiarity control. The situation in six EU member states is analyzed in detail. The country chapters illustrate and analyze how subnational parliaments in the federal member states (Austria, Belgium, Germany) and in the decentralized/devolved ones (Great Britain, Italy, Spain) functionally adapt to the new opportunity structure and discuss the repercussions on legislative-executive relations as well as on interparliamentary relations. With contributions from Gabriele Abels; Katrin Auel and Martin Große Hüttman; Peter Bursens, Frederic Maes and Matthias Vileyn; Peter Bußjäger; Josep-María Castellà Andreu and Mario Kölling; Ben Crum, Annegret Eppler; John Erik Fossum; Anna-Lena Högenauer; Sabine Kropp; Robert Ladrech; Erik Miklin; Matteo Nicolini; Werner J. Patzelt; Tapio Raunio; Werner Reutter; Gerhard Stahl and Bert Kuby; Gracia Vara Arribas.

In an attempt to strengthen the legitimacy of European Union (EU) policy-making, the 2009 Lisbon Treaty strengthened the principle of parliamentary control in EU affairs. This pertains to parliaments at all levels ranging from the regional to the supranational level. This book analyses the potential of regional parliaments – the parliaments closest to the citizens – to engage in EU affairs and to fill the perceived legitimacy gap. Eight member states have a total of 73 regional parliaments with legislative powers, and there are further trends towards decentralization in Europe. On its quest to understand the role that regional parliaments can plan in the EU multi-level parliamentary system, the book addresses key questions: What are the formal powers and functions of regional parliaments in EU policy-making? How do they use their powers in practice? How active are they in EU politics, and what do they try to achieve? What factors can explain their degree of (in-)activity? The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue of The Journal of Legislative Studies.

European politics has been reshaped in recent decades by a dual process of centralization and decentralization. At the same time that authority in many policy areas has shifted to the suprantional level of the European Union, so national governments have given subnational regions within countries more say over the lives of their citizens. At the forefront of scholars who characterize this dual process as Omulti-level governance,OLiesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks argue that its emergence in the second half of the twentieth century is a watershed in the political development of Europe. Hooghe and Marks explain why multi-level governance has taken place and how it shapes conflict in national and European political arenas. Drawing on a rich body of original research, the book is at the same time written in a clear and accessible style for undergraduates and non-experts.

This volume offers a broad conceptual spectrum on the political and legal system of the European Union. The heuristic of multi-level governance relates to the multiple actors, the interconnectedness between levels of decision-making, and the interpenetration of institutions and actors. Additionally, legal sciences stress numerous legal centers, which, on the one hand, espouse independent legal orders, while communicating with each other through legislative acts, executive decisions, and court decrees on the other. The fusion of the legal and political aspects of the EU provides an opportunity to view the sui generis system of the EU in a broader perspective, which promises to overcome reductionist approaches, both in legal and political sciences. (Series: Region - Nation - Europe / Region - Nation - Europa -- Vol. 69)

This book examines the theory and praxis of the legal concept of subsidiarity and the policy paradigm of multilevel governance, providing an updated overview on how subnational and national authorities engage within the EU institutional framework. Providing a theoretical assessment of real-life case studies, the book reflects on a number of key events from the negotiations of the European Convention to the process that led to the "Brexit" referendum and assesses the key agendas and institutional ethos of most actors involved in EU policymaking. It particularly focusses on the EU engagement of so-called non-privileged actors, such as subnational authorities from the UK, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Scandinavia, as well as national and regional parliaments. The author goes on to examine the sometimes selfish behaviour and individual agendas of the European Commission, European Parliament, Member States and even the European Court of Justice but also identifies many constructive ways of interaction that can decisively frame how EU decisions are made. This comprehensive book will be a useful reference to students, practitioners and academic researchers working in European politics, policymaking, public policy and EU law and integration.

Addresses a theme of central importance to the theory and practice of parliamentary democracy in western Europe: multiparty coalition government in the under-researched institutional setting of subnational (i.e., regional, provincial, local) representative assemblies. Comparison focuses on France, Belgium, and Germany. Part I discusses the literature, outlines criticisms of formal theory, and surveys attempts to use subnational coalitions as data sources. Part II presents theory and methods, and Part III offers empirical analysis. Part IV applies theoretical points made in previous chapters and presents conclusions. Appendices offer a survey questionnaire used for this study and related statistics. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book provides an in-depth guide to researchers and practitioners who are interested in analyzing the evolution of EU law from a national and comparative constitutional law perspective. The volume deals with questions of how EU Member States’ constitutional systems, including the subnational tier, interact with the supranational level. It maps the evolution over time of constitutional strategies in the face of multi-level governance and individuates contextual factors on an empirical basis. The volume includes twelve national reports written by leading experts in constitutional and EU law, and in political science. The countries discussed include the six founding Member States, together with a selection of Member States in which a clear-cut evolution in the national constitutional approach towards the EU can be observed. These include the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The latter is included as an “extreme” case in which the change in constitutional strategy over time has resulted in withdrawing from the Union altogether. Taken together, the book assembles the building blocks of an explanatory theory of constitutional strategies in the face of multi-level governance. The volume will be of interest to students and researchers in comparative constitutional law, political science and multidisciplinary EU studies. It will also be a valuable resource for policy-makers.

How does the Parliament of the United Kingdom hold ministers to account for their European policies? How does the EU principle of subsidiarity affect the relation between Westminster and the Scottish Parliament? How does Belgium accommodate its powerful regional assemblies into the European role of its federal parliament? What is the role of the Dutch parliament before and after the popular rejection of the Constitutional Treaty in the Netherlands? How does the parliament of Croatia view all these developments as it prepares for accession to the EU? And how should academics in general conceptualize the role of national parliaments in Europe's complex constitutional system, before and after the Constitutional Treaty? As national and regional parliaments get explicitly involved in the EU, this volume addresses some key notions that are highly relevant to the ongoing debate: parliamentarism and constitutionalism, legitimacy and transparency, subsidiarity and devolution. This volume will hold great value for academics and policy-makers studying the European Union and Member States.

Why is there a regional participation of Saxony-Anhalt within the European Multi-Level Governance system? The author provides an account of the characteristics of European Multi-Level Governance (EMLG) and regional participation therein, by describing the EMLG and identifying its topics and categories of meaning for regional participation. She establishes the mechanisms responsible for regional participation, highlighting the patterns that emerge.