Introduction
The European parliament is one of the highly ranked legislatures within the European Union. As a body, the parliament works together with the European council in making the key decisions for the Union. The parliament is comprised of 736 members of the European parliamentarians who represent the respective country members who are said to serve the second largest democratic region globally after the trans-national democratic electorate. The membership is however directly elected after every five years through the universal suffrage system.
The EU parliament is currently headed by Jerzy Buzek who was elected on July 2009. The president who is also referred to as the speaker presides over multi-party chambers within the EU. The secretariat of the European parliament forms an administrative body and is headed by the secretary-general. Currently the EU secretariat is based at Brussels-Luxembourg station. It is also important to note that currently the secretariat consist of 4,000 officials who coordinate the administrative operations and activities. The EU parliament usually meets in the two already established places namely the Louise Weiss building in France and the Espace Leopold in Brussels. The European parliament was first established in 1967 after the renaming of European communities. But the body was granted powers to oversee the union budget in 1970. The first members of the European parliament were directly elected in 1979. And as an elected body, it began to draft proposals which were meant at coordinating and facilitating the EU operations and activities. Membership to the European parliament however keeps on expanding as new members continuous to be admitted into the Union. This is because the parliament comprises of equally elected representatives from the EU member states.
Literature review
The European parliament has various key functions which enables the smooth running of operations within the EU. This function includes the legislative, budgetary, executive control and the supervisory functions. It is important to remember that the above four functions are done by the bicameral EU body which is made up of the European parliament and the European council. As one of the powerful bodies within the EU, the European parliament has all along been able to influence many European Union decisions (Arikan, 2006, p. 290).
The legislative function of the European union has greatly expanded in the resent period as the union members has continued to sign up the many new and improved treaties. There has been a tremendous synchronization of the legislative powers between the parliament and the council. This mutual coordination has therefore empowered the two bodies in legislative issues. The parliament can therefore amend or draft a provision if well coordinated with the council, likewise the council can undertake similar procedure with the parliament support. The Bolkenstein directives of 2006 empowered the parliament as the only institution which has a total legislative mandate due to its democratic representations. Both the parliament and the council are empowered to pass the special legislative laws on matters concerning justice, home affairs, taxation and budgetary policies. The procedures of coming up with such legislatures is however determined by the institutional act being used (Hix, Noury & Roland, 2007, p.39).
The budgetary function on the other hand gives the European parliament the power to coordinate the overall union proceedings. This function was first ratified during the budgetary treaties of 1970s giving the European parliament power to have the last word on how the union expenditures should be handled. The treaty of Rome which was signed in 1970 gave the parliament this express mandate and power. The 1975 treaty also gave the parliament the power to reject a part or whole of the budget if the spending is not appropriately done (Warleigh, 2002, p. 62). As a result of these treaties the European parliament is responsible for drafting and implementing the budgetary allocations. The budgetary role of the European parliament was also reinforced during Lisbon treaty which was signed in the year 2007. This treaty was however implemented in 2009 and was aimed at ensuring the accountability in the budgetary process. According to the treaty more qualified council of ministers was to be appointed in order to ensure professionalism within the budgetary function. The treaty also established the fundamental human rights and legal policies which should be followed to ensure consistency and conformity within the procedures. The Lisbon treaty was also meant at improving the Amsterdam and Nice treaties which were established in 1997 and 2000 respectively (Steunenberge & Thomassen, 2002, p. 9). The European court of auditors however supervises the proceedings in order to ensure that the process is done within the law. This court of auditors is therefore supposed to act independently and professionally so as to ensure accountability and transparency in the spending of the union’s fund. This is done through a thorough scrutiny of its annual report which is later presented to the European parliament.
The executive control by the European parliament is done to ensure that the executives operate within their powers. The parliament also distinguishes between the legislative and the executive roles by clearly outlining duties and responsibilities of each within the union operations. The parliament is therefore allowed to gather support from the institutions, leaders and general public within the member state which it can further use to check the behavior and actions of the executives. The use of parliament in this roles ensures cohesions and togetherness in the decision making process. The power to censure the commission which is given to the European parliament ensures accountability in the service delivery. In order to effectively check the European Union executives, the parliament used various techniques such as the reports requirement and censure motions. The report requirement ensures that the executive’s only functions within its jurisdictions and those proper and adequate legal requirements are efficiently followed. The executive officials are also called upon to answer questions to the members of the European parliament whenever an issue arises within their jurisdiction. Such checks and control always ensures that the executives operate accountably and responsibly (Gerven, 2005, p. 287).
The supervisory power of the European parliament enhances the general supervision of activities within the union. The parliament in this case calls the respective institutions to answer questions when there is a need of such action. The supervision is also done by requiring them to compile complete formal reports of every activity they undertake. The parliament also appoints and elects the European ombudsman who is entitled to ensure that the union activity and progress benefits the general public in the respective member states. At times committees are usually formulated to cater and listen to the submitted cases and reports if they tend to conflict with the union’s expectations. The parliament through commissions therefore arbitrates, mediates and resolves legal and other civil disputes amongst the states residents (Maier & Tenscher, 2006, p. 407).
Research questions/hypothesis
Since the major aim of this research paper is to establish the power and influence of the European parliament, it is appropriate to use the rationalistic form of analysis. This approach will assist us to establish the impact of the European parliament in the European Union. The key decisions such as the legislature and the executive control can at least help us to determine power and authority bestowed on the European parliament. The parliament composition and structure also shows that the institution greatly acknowledges democratic representation of the member states. The budgetary function which the European parliament has been given rationally defines their power. This is because the monetary aspect within the union coordinates and affects the overall operations and activities within it. From a rationalist point of view the European parliament is one of the most powerful organs within the European Union (Kreppel, 2002, p.34). It can also be argued from a constructive point of view that the European parliament formulates the principles and rules which govern the member states. Its supervisory role also empowers the European parliament to check and ensure that the institutions adhere to the set rules and regulations. From the above argument, I can comfortably formulate the following propositions concerning the European parliament influence in the decision making process.
- P1: The European parliament effectively and efficiently coordinates the overall operations within the union.
- P2: The parliament coordination with the European council empowers the bicameral institution to possess extra power over the other union’s institutions.
From the above propositions, the following hypothesis can be derived:
- H1: The European parliament has a significant impact on the overall decision making process.
- H2: The European parliament do not greatly influence the unions overall decision making process.
From the above propositions and hypothesis given below are some of the generic variables.
My general independent variables (IV) are defined by the European parliament powers and responsibilities. On the other hand my dependent variables (DV) can be defined by the parliament limitations.
My IV therefore measures some of the key duties and responsibilities of the European parliament. Among the major functions includes the legislative, the budgetary, the executive control and the supervisory role. It is also important to consider the magnitude in which the above four departments have in the overall union’s operations.
The DV on the other hand will look at the key limitations which the European parliament has.
Research design
This paper follows a qualitative research design as it tries to analyze the events, values and actions of the European parliament. The European parliament consists of MEP from all over the member states and who are determined by the state’s populations is effectively used to coordinate the union’s operations. The qualitative research in this case will seek to have an in-depth analysis of the subject field. Additionally the research can also be based on the administrative records together with documentary evidence. This is because it uses all the macro related statistics which supports the subject field (Spector, 1981, p. 80). In most cases the research designs are used if the subject field is on economic or political matters. The critical functions of the European parliament therefore checks on the individual welfare; an ad hoc interview survey may be used to gather the required information. But in my case the qualitative and administrative methods have been used to analyze the European parliament influence in the decision making process. The two research design techniques enable use to fully understand the role of the European parliament and also the position that the parliament is ranked among the unions organs. The legislative role that the European parliament is given empowers it more than any other unions organ. This is because this function enables the parliament to actively participate in the decision making process. This role is however limited as the parliament cannot enforce law, but instead it can only propose some amendment or improvement on what is already set. The budgetary role that the parliament is given is also checked by the European court of auditors. The auditor court is comprised of professional members and is supposed to ensure that all the required procedures and rules are followed before spending the Unions funds (McNabb, 2004, p. 78).
The research however is a non-experimental as it assumes that the overall union’s decisions are made wholly by the European parliament. This is not the case as all the functions are jointly done by both the parliament and the European council. The bicameral organ of the union works jointly in almost everything, meaning that European parliament alone does not have an express power and authority to function alone. It also has a cross-sectional argument as the statistics addresses a specific time frame. It therefore generalizes the four key roles of the bicameral organ which is made of the parliament and the council (Kennedy, 1990, P. 312).
Data collection
The parliament interviews the individual residents in the respective member states, a function which aims at establishing whether or not the executives and other union’s institutions really benefit them. The already gathered information shows that the integration of the European states to form a union has greatly empowered the respective states economically. This is because it has significantly expanded the market through which the respective member states can market its goods and services ((Phillips, & Stawarski, 2008, P.192).
The European parliament should be actively included into any key international decision that the union intends to engage itself into. For instance the members of the European parliament unanimously rejected the 2006 U.S-E.U anti-terror data sharing accord since they were not involved in its formulation. This therefore showed that the parliament has the power to reject or support any motion as they evaluate the benefits it will bring to their member states (Giles, 2010, Para. 7). According to the allowing such cooperation will affect the banking confidentiality which will also greatly affect the economic operations within Europe.
The documentary records of the European parliament give it an outright mandate to table resolution motions whenever need arises. They have the right to ask questions and demand responses from the council of ministers and the commission (Axinn, & Pearce, 2006, P. 230). They have right to amend any text that may contravene with the union’s constitution. All this information enables us to evaluate the strengths and power bestowed upon the European parliament. The shared power to pursue the annual budget enables the parliament and the council to become very critical as far as the union spending is concerned. This is because all the union’s expenditures must be approved by the parliament. The parliament however effectively manages its operations by first preparing and participating in the plenary session. This session enhances proper coordination between the council, commission and the parliament proceedings.
Analysis
The European parliament can therefore be considered as one of the most powerful organs within the European Union. This is because the four major functions that the institution is supposed to undertake coordinate and regulates the overall activities of the union. The legislative function given to the bicameral organ of the EU enables the parliament and the council to draft and amend the union’s legislature. Both the parliament and the council are empowered to pass the special legislative laws on matters concerning justice, home affairs, taxation and budgetary policies. The procedures of coming up with such legislatures is however determined by the institutional act being used. The executive control enables the European parliament to check actions and behaviors of the executive bodies and ministers within the union. This is usually done through the report requirement to ensure that the executive’s only functions within its jurisdictions and that they follow proper and adequate legal requirements. The executive officials are also called upon to answer questions to the members of the European parliament whenever an issue arises within their jurisdiction. Such checks and control always ensures that the executives operate accountably and responsibly. Despite the fact that the European parliament share their powers with the European council, the body still has a considerable influence in the union’s decision making process. It is therefore true to say that the H1 hypothesis which indicates that the parliament has a significant influence in the decision making process is true and valid as far as the above analysis is concerned (Kraemer & Thiemann, 1987, P. 120).
Membership Schedule
The below schedule represents the political groups which make up the European parliament as at 2009:
Political group No. of seats
The European people’s party EPP 265
The progressive alliance of socialists and democrats S & D 184
The alliance of liberals and democrats for Europe ALDE 84
The greens or European free alliance Greens/EFA 55
The European conservatives and reformists group ECR 55
The Nordic green left NGL 35
The European of freedom and democracy EFD 32
Others not specified 26
Total 736
Budgetary schedule
The union also budgeted approximately €120.7 billion for the year ended 2007 and also forecasted that it will pay €864 billion for the period 2007-2013. This amount is usually used to facilitate the smooth operations of the union. This budgetary allocation is also meant to ensure that member states eventually benefits from the integration (Heremans, 2004, p. 104). This amount is raised through the annual state contribution by the member states. The union also raises some of its revenue through taxes such as the import duties.
The validity and reliability
The qualitative, administrative records and documentary evidence ensures the validity of the research due to its macro status. The documentary evidence such as the economic trends also ensure reliability of the design as it gives the overall budgetary and membership trend that make up the European Union and parliament.
References
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