A Virtual Third Chamber for the European Union? National Parliaments Under the Treaty of Lisbon

Ian Cooper

No 10, ARENA Working Papers from ARENA

Abstract: The Treaty of Lisbon introduces an early warning mechanism (EWM) which empowers national parliaments to intervene collectively at the EU-level; they may now raise objections to – and even help to block – EU legislative proposals. The EWM represents a new model of parliamentary involvement in international relations: national parliaments now constitute a virtual third chamber for the EU. Though they do not meet together in the same physical space, national parliaments collectively form a body that can, at least to some degree, perform three key parliamentary functions – representation, legislation, and deliberation. First, the EWM provides a new channel of representation linking the citizen with the EU. Second, it gives national parliaments power – more than is commonly supposed – to influence the EU’s legislative process. Third, it creates a new forum for debating the merits of proposed EU legislation, which will increase the salience of national parliaments’ concerns, particularly with respect to subsidiarity.

Keywords: national parliaments; subsidiarity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-01-01
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:erp:arenax:p0278

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