The European Parliament has come a long way since its inception in 1951. Initially a consultative body composed of delegations of national parliaments, it has become a directly elected institution, has obtained budgetary and legislative powers, and now exercises influence over most aspects of EU affairs. Together with representatives of national governments, who sit in the Council, Parliament co-decides on European legislation, in what could be seen as a bicameral legislature at EU level. This publication presents Parliament's powers, including the most recent changes following the reform of Parliament's Rules of Procedure in April 2024.
Authors
Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services, European Parliament, Kotanidis, Silvia, Mańko, Rafał, Mildebrath, Hendrik, Del Monte, Micaela, Toft, Søren Sebastian
- Catalogue number
- QA-01-24-015-EN-N
- Citation
- European Parliament: Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services, Kotanidis, S., MaÅko, R., Mildebrath, H., Del Monte, M. et al., The evolving powers of the European Parliament , European Parliament, 2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2861/6341019
- DOI
- https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2861/6341019
- ISBN
- 978-92-848-2255-3
- Pages
- 39
- Published in
- Belgium
- Themes
- Activities of the institutions and bodies
Table of Contents
- 1. The evolving institution 7
- Treaty provisions on democratic principles 7
- 2. Law-making powers 8
- Figure 1 – Legislative resolutions adopted in plenary 8
- 2.1. Ordinary legislative procedure and special legislative procedures 9
- Figure 2 – Ordinary legislative procedure (OLP) 9
- Figure 3 – Average length of ordinary legislative procedure 9
- Figure 4 – Number of trilogue meetings 11
- 2.2. Delegated and implementing acts24F 12
- 2.2.1. Delegated acts: Ex ante and ex post control powers 12
- 2.2.2. Implementing acts 14
- 2.3. International agreements 15
- 2.3.1. Involvement at the negotiation stage 15
- 2.3.2. Power to request ex ante judicial review of the agreement 15
- 2.3.3. Power to give or refuse consent 16
- 2.3.4. Power to seek ex post judicial review 16
- 3. Budgetary powers 17
- 3.1. Proposals for reform 19
- 3.1.1. Introduction of new budgetary rules of procedure 19
- 3.1.2. Budgetary considerations for the future 20
- 4. Scrutiny powers 21
- 4.1. Right to question the Commission 21
- 4.2. Special scrutiny hearings 22
- 4.3. Right of inquiry 23
- 4.4. Special committees 24
- 4.5. Scrutiny of executive law-making by the Commission 24
- 4.6. Motion of censure 24
- Regulation on the right of inquiry 23
- 5. Appointing powers 25
- 5.1. Investiture of the European Commission 25
- 5.2. Other institutions, bodies and agencies 27
- 6. Agenda-setting 28
- 7. Powers in relation to the EU's constitutional foundations 30
- 7.1. Overview of powers 30
- 7.2. Parliament's proposals for reform 30
- 7.3. Parliament's role in breach of values procedures (Article 7 TEU) 32
- Annex I – Overview of Parliament's powers and their legal basis 34
- Annex II - Parliament's roles in appointment procedures 36
