European Parliament - its changing role and the institutional reform in the European Union

Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 2,0 (B), University of Twente (School of Business, Public Administration and Technology), course: European Institutions, language: English, abstract: Since 1979 the European Community resp. nowadays the European Union is providedwith a parliament. From this time on there have been a lot of vehement andcontroversial discussions mainly concerning the role of this European Parliament(EP) and its legitimacy. Keeping this in mind, before lighting up the details of the institutionalreform process - mainly focussing the recent Convention (-Debate) -, I willpresent the basic principles of constitution, tasks and functioning of the EuropeanParliament. As said in the Treaty of Rome from 1957 the European Parliament represents thepeople of the Member States of the European Community. Thus 375 million Europeancitizens in 15 countries are now involved in the process of European Integrationthrough their 626 representatives in the European Parliament1 (http://www.europarl.eu.int/presentation/default_en.htm, 30.04.03). In its constitutingsession on March 21, 1958 the general assembly was named European Parliament . Until 1979, every five years the European Parliament is build by direct universal elections. The main tasks of the EP are consultation and supervision; it is also featuredwith the right to sue to the Court of Justice. The seat of the plenum of the EP is inStrasbourg supplementary the Committees hold their meetings in Brussels, theGeneral Secretariat remained in Luxembourg. The tasks of the EP are composed of the general legislative power, the constitutionalright to decide on the budget, the right of control and interaction. To explain this aspectsmore detailed: The general legislative power: The Parliament grew from a kind of forum to ashaping actor (cp. Schmuck 1994: p.22). By dint of the so called isoglucosecase the European Parliament was given a very useful delaying power (Nugent2001:p.207). [...]1 Germany: 99; Great Britain, France and Italy: 87 each; Spain: 64; the Netherlands: 31; Belgium,Greece, Portugal: 25 each; Sweden: 22; Austria: 21; Denmark and Finland: 16 each; Ireland: 15; Luxembourg:5 (Art. 190 ECT).