08 June 2015
The EP 2014 Elections: Constitutional Change or Window-Dressing?
The constitutional expectations developed around the European elections of May 2014 were effectively quite high. Faced with a mounting crisis affecting their output legitimacy, European institutions had to strengthen their status through a different channel. An agreement was struck among the main European political parties for nominating a candidate to the President of the European Commission to be supported, in case of victory at the polls, before the European Council. This novelty was introduced as a two-fold opportunity: first, as a chance for enhancing the representative quality of EU lawmaking and, second, to move the relationship between Parliament and Commission toward a form of parliamentary government. Did it succeed? In hindsight, it is clear that the elections of 2014 did produce some effects, but not those of significant politicisation initially envisaged. Continue reading >>
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