The Palgrave Handbook of National Parliaments and the European Union

The Palgrave Handbook of National Parliaments and the European Union offers a comprehensive picture of the European activities of national parliaments in all the 28 member states of the EU. In the aftermath of the Lisbon Treaty, it questions whether national legislatures do matter in European governance. With contributions from both academics and practitioners, this volume integrates the latest constitutional and legal developments as well as the consequences of the economic crisis in every country in the EU. Special emphasis is also placed on the actual parliamentary practices relating to European affairs. In addition, the volume includes some cross-sectional entries on key issues such as parliamentary administration and inter-parliamentary cooperation. By covering a large number of aspects and cases, this collection provides a unique source for assessing the degree of actual parliamentary and democratic control of the European governance at the domestic level.

Claudia Hefftler is a Research Associate and PhD student at the Jean Monnet Chair, University of Cologne, Germany where she is involved in the OPAL project (Observatory of Parliaments after the Lisbon Treaty). She has studied political science, history and Portuguese philology. She has published on national parliaments with a focus on their participation in the Early Warning Mechanism and their control over European Council meetings.

Christine Neuhold holds the Special Chair of EU Democratic Governance at the Department of Political Science, Maastricht University, the Netherlands. A political scientist with a PhD from the University of Vienna, she has published widely on national parliaments and the EP, currently focusing on unelected officials in parliaments.

Olivier Rozenberg is Associate Professor at Sciences Po, Paris, France in the Centre d'études européennes. He specialises in legislative studies and European studies. He has published a number of collective books, including Parliamentary Roles in Modern Legislatures (2012) and The Roles and Function of Parliamentary Questions (2012).

Julie Smith is Director of the European Centre in the Department of Politics and International Studies, Cambridge University, UK and Fellow in Politics at Robinson College, Cambridge. Her research interests include parliaments and budgetary politics, European elections and the UK's relations with the EU.

1.Introduction; Olivier Rozenberg and Claudia Hefftler

PART I: CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES

2.National Parliaments in the European Union: Conceptual Choices in the EU's Constitutional Debate; Afke Groen and Thomas Christiansen
3.Fighting Back? And, if so, how? Measuring Parliamentary Strength and Activity in EU Affairs; Katrin Auel, Olivier Rozenberg and Angela Tacea
4.Interparliamentary Cooperation in the European Union: Patterns, Problems and Potential; Claudia Hefftler and Katjana Gattermann
5.Parliamentary Administrations in the Scrutiny of EU Decision-making; Anna-Lena Högenauer and Thomas Christiansen
6.Legislative Regions After Lisbon: A New Role for Regional Assemblies?; Garcia Vara Arribas and Anna-Lena Högenauer

PART II: THE SIX FOUNDING MEMBERS, 1952

7.Belgium: Institutional and Administrative Adaptation but Limited Political Interest; Tom Delreux and François Randour
8.The French Parliament and the EU – 'Shadow Control' Through the Government Majority; Anja Thomas and Angela Tacea
9.With a little Help from the Constitutional Court. The Bundestag on its way to an Active Policy-shaper; Oliver Höing
10. Italy: Still Looking for a New Era in the Making of EU Policy; Sabrina Cavatorto
11. Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies and European Union Affairs; Astrid Spreitzer
12. The Dutch Parliament and EU Affairs: Decentralizing Scrutiny; Anna-Lena Högenauer

PART III: FIRST ENLARGEMENT, 1973

13. The Danish Folketing and EU Affairs: Is the Danish Model of Parliamentary Scrutiny Still Best Practice?; Mette Buskjær Christensen
14. Long Train Running: The Slowly-developed (and slowly-developing) Role of Ireland's Oireachtas in European Union Affairs; Gavin Barrett
15. Westminster and the European Union – Ever Increasing Scepticism?; Ariella Huff and Julie Smith

PART IV: MEDITERRANEAN ENLARGEMNENTS, 1981 AND 1986

16. The Greek Parliament and the European Union After the Lisbon Treaty: A Missed Opportunity to Empower Parliament; Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos
17. The Spanish National Parliament and the European Union – Slow Adaptation to New Responsibilities in Times of Crisis; Mario Kölling and Ignacio Molina
18. The Portuguese Parliament and EU Affairs: From Inert to Agile Democratic Control; Davor Jancic

PART V: POST COLD-WAR ENLARGEMENT, 1995

19. The Austrian Parliament and EU affairs: Gradually living up to its legal potential; Eric Miklin
20. The Finnish Eduskunta and EU: The Strengths and Weaknesses of a Mandating System; Tapio Raunio
21. The Swedish Parliament and EU Affairs: From Reluctant Player to Europeanized Actor; Hans Hegeland

PART VI: EASTERN AND MEDITERRANEAN ENLARGEMENTS, 2004, 2007 AND 2013

22. The Bulgarian National Assembly and EU Affairs: Hesitant Steps in the European Arena; Dobrin Kanev
23. The Croatian Parliament in the EU: Ready, Steady, Go!; Hrvoje Butkovic
24. The Cypriot Parliament and EU Affairs; Achilles Emilianides, Odysseas Christou and Christina Ioannou
25. The Czech Parliament and European Integration; Martin Hrabálek and Alexander Strelkov
26. The Estonian Parliament and EU affairs: A Watchdog that does not Bark?; Piret Ehin
27. The Hungarian Parliament and EU Affairs: A Modest Actor Dominated by the Executive; Gabriella Ilonszki
28. The Latvian Parliament and EU Affairs: A Passive Player with Strong Formal Powers; Janis Ikstens
29. Parliamentary Scrutiny of EU Affairs in Lithuania: The Dog that Rarely Barks; Ramunas Vilpišauskas
30. The Maltese Parliament and EU Affairs: A Slow Awakening to its Responsibilities; Roderick Pace
31. The Polish Parliament and EU Affairs; Jan Barcz and Anna Pudlo
32. The Slovak Parliament and EU Affairs – In need of a Wake-up Call; Andrea Figulova
33. Slovenian Parliament and EU Affairs: Strong Formal Powers Awaiting Interest and Capacity to be Used; Sabina Kajnc Lange
34. The Slow Adaptation of a New Member State: The Romanian Parliament and European Integration; Angela Tacea
35. Conclusion; Christine Neuhold and Julie Smith