Book Announcement: Interparliamentary Cooperation in the Composite European Constitution (Nicola Lupo and Cristina Fasone, eds.)

Network member Nicola Lupo (LUISS), together with Cristina Fasone (also LUISS), have alerted us that their new edited volume Interparliamentary Cooperation in the Composite European Constitution has now appeared from Hart. Below is the publisher's blurb and more information, including the Table of Contents (noting several contributions by other network members), can be found here. Hart has graciously offered readers a 20 per cent discount if they choose to purchase (see here -- use code CV7 at checkout to get the discount).

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This collection analyses the place and the functioning of interparliamentary cooperation in the EU composite constitutional order, taking into account both the European and the national dimensions. The chapters join the recent scholarship on the role of parliaments in the EU after the Treaty of Lisbon.The aim of this volume is to highlight the constitutional significance of interparliamentary cooperation as a permanent feature of EU democracy and as a new parliamentary function as well as to investigate the practical side of this relatively new phenomenon. To this end the contributors are academics and parliamentary officials from all over Europe.

The volume discusses the developments in interparliamentary cooperation and its implications for the organisation and procedures of national parliaments and the European Parliament, for the fragmented executive of the EU, and for the democratic legitimacy of the overall EU composite Constitution. These issues are examined by looking at the European legislative process, the European Semester and the Treaty revisions. Moreover, the contributions take into account the effects of interparliamentary cooperation on the internal structure of parliaments and analyse the different models of interparliamentary cooperation, ie from COSAC to the new Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the European Union provided by the Fiscal Compact.

Davor Jancic on the Roles of the US and EU Legislatures in Shaping Transatlantic Interactions

Network member Davor Jancic (T.M.C. Asser Institute) has recently published two articles on transatlantic relations, TTIP, regulatory cooperation, extraterritoriality, and the roles of the European Parliament and the US Congress.  The first article is published in the Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies, entitled “Transatlantic Regulatory Interdependence, Law and Governance: The Evolving Roles of the EU and US Legislatures” and freely accessible until February 2016. The second has just been released in Early View with the Journal of Common Market Studies, entitled “The Role of the European Parliament and the US Congress in Shaping Transatlantic Relations: TTIP, NSA Surveillance and CIA Renditions.” 

Full texts can be found at the links above; abstracts are below.

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Abstract: Transatlantic Regulatory Interdependence, Law and Governance: The Evolving Roles of the EU and US Legislatures

This article analyses the roles of the European Parliament and the US Congress in addressing regulatory interdependencies arising in the EU–US strategic partnership. It examines their international actorness as a potential remedy for the problems of democratic participation, executive dominance, and opaqueness in the shaping of transatlantic relations. It shows that legislatures significantly contribute to regulatory discrepancies and trade disputes and that the adverse consequences thereof justify more intensive ex ante cooperation between them. The analysis conducts two groups of case studies to demonstrate how the EP and Congress influence law and policy in areas of transatlantic regulatory and foreign policy divergence. The first group of case studies analyses parliamentary involvement in the making of international agreements (TTIP and ACTA). The second group of case studies inspects legislative action with extraterritorial effects (US Helms–Burton and Sarbanes–Oxley Acts). The article argues that the EP and Congress have so far frequently acted against the spirit of the strategic partnership in ways that are injurious to the interests of the other side, and discusses whether an interparliamentary early warning mechanism could reduce legislative and political frictions and increase the coherence of transatlantic lawmaking.


Abstract: The Role of the European Parliament and the US Congress in Shaping Transatlantic Relations: TTIP, NSA Surveillance and CIA Renditions

This article analyses the manner in which the parliaments of the EU and the US – two key global strategic partners – participate in the shaping of transatlantic relations. The article argues that the European Parliament (EP) and Congress aim not only to influence their executive branches but also to act autonomously in the transnational arena through parliamentary diplomacy. They seek to secure concessions both formally by scrutinizing transatlantic international agreements, such as TTIP, as well as informally by exposing injustices and diplomatic misconduct through human rights advocacy and institutional pressure, such as in the cases of the NSA surveillance and CIA renditions. The article demonstrates that the EP and Congress have created capacities for internal scrutiny and transnational interparliamentary dialogue and that they utilize their consent powers to make claims, condition transatlantic negotiations and gain greater presence, visibility and influence in international affairs.

Davor Jancic on "The Game of Cards: National Parliaments in the EU and the Future of the Early Warning Mechanism and the Political Dialogue"

Network member Davor Jancic (Asser Institute) has just published a new article in the Common Market Law Review, entitled "The Game of Cards: National Parliaments in the EU and the Future of the Early Warning Mechanism and the Political Dialogue."  The abstract is below; the full article is available from the CMLR website here, or from SSRN here.

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The article analyses the subsidiarity guardianship function of national parliaments and argues that, while a positive development, the current concept and practice of subsidiarity monitoring do not satisfactorily address the problem of competence creep and the need to safeguard domestic socio-economic and politico-legal idiosyncrasies. The analysis critically evaluates the two yellow cards hitherto issued within the early warning mechanism and inspects new initiatives for national parliamentary involvement in EU lawmaking – such as the “red card”, “late card” and “green card”. It also assesses the Juncker Commission’s approach to the political dialogue with national parliaments. The article holds that refocusing parliamentary scrutiny towards the principle of conferral and legislative substance is more conducive to alleviating the democratic deficit and increasing EU legitimacy.

Summer School: "Parliaments of Europe," LUISS University of Rome, July 14-24, 2015

Network member Nicola Lupo (LUISS Guido Carli) has written to announce a summer school on parliamentary democracy in Europe, to take place at LUISS University of Rome between July 14 and July 24 this year.  Entitled "Parliaments of Europe: foreign policy and democracy promotion," the course focuses on the powers, functions, and institutional relationships that distinguish modern European parliaments.  The course is aimed at graduate students, junior researchers, civil servants, and others with a professional interest in European democracy.  Full details are available here.

Conference at LSE: 'Resilience or Resignation? National Parliaments and the EU', 10 April 2015

Friend of the network Davor Jancic (British Academy Newton Fellow, LSE), has asked us to forward the announcement below of the conference Resilience or Resignation? National Parliaments and the EU, which will take place at LSE on April 10.  Included in the speaker line-up is network member Peter Lindseth (UConn, this term Senior Emile Noël Fellow at NYU), as well as Katarzyna Granat (Emile Noël Fellow at NYU).  More details can be found here (including RSVP details) and the full announcement is below.

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Reminder: Summer School on Parliamentary Democracy in Europe, LUISS Centre for Parliamentary Studies, Rome, Italy, July 14-25, 2014

We wanted to alert readers to the Summer School on Parliamentary Democracy in Europe hosted by the LUISS Centre for Parliamentary Studies in Rome, which will take place from July 14-25, 2014. Limited places are still available.  Network member Peter Lindseth (UConn) will deliver the closing lecture of the first week on July 18, and the faculty for both weeks includes a large number of leading scholars of EU law and politics (see here). An overview is immediately below, and the program is available here. Further information, including registration details, can be found here.  Tuition fees may be found here.

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Summer School on Parliamentary Democracy in Europe 

(Third edition) 

The Europeanisation of national parliaments 

Rome, July 14-25, 2014

Since the onset of the European integration process, national parliaments have been continuously adjusting their traditional functions, organization and role. The increasing influence of EU policy-making in the domestic arena − usually labelled as Europeanisation − redefined the scope and limits of national legislation, as well as the structure of political competition.

Parliaments have been often described as the 'late comers' and the 'losers' of European integration. However, the Treaty of Lisbon has somewhat rehabilitated their position, by allowing them to participate more effectively in the EU decision-making processes, up to the point of providing new parliamentary functions directly in the Treaties, which may pose problems in terms of inter-institutional balance both at the national and at the European level.

In particular, the current reform of the economic governance and the resurgence of intergovernmentalism request the active involvement of national parliaments in EU affairs aiming to preserve and possibly enhance the legitimacy of the European action and to control its outcomes. Such 'transformations' require to be studied in depth, aiming to assess if and how the interaction between parliaments and citizens, political parties, national and European bodies has changed.

This summer school untangles these issues and provides its participants with a map of the current state of the European Union democracy, under the perspective of the national parliaments, by looking at their election, organization, decision-making processes, inter-institutional relations, and, in the end, at their active contribution 'to the good functioning of the Union' (Art. 12 TEU).

Participants will be provided with knowledge and expertise that will allow them to understand and interpret the complex and fascinating role of these institutions. The need to combine theory with practice in understanding the future of Europe's democracy is reflected in the Faculty, which includes world-class academics and experienced officials from European and national institutions.

This Summer School has been awarded as a Jean Monnet module co-financed by the European Commission in 2013, 2014, 2015.

This intensive summer course is organized in cooperation with:

- LUISS Centre for Parliamentary Studies;
- CEUR Foundation;
- International Political Science Association (IPSA);
- SciencesPo; and
- ULB, Université Libre de Bruxelles.