The Balancing Role of National Parliaments in Transforming the European Union. Towards a Parliamentary Polity?

Abstract

The Lisbon Treaty of 2009 represents a serious step moving the EU away from the path of de- parliamentarisation, typical since its foundation, towards a path of re-parliamentarisation. This is done not only by strengthening the European Parliament, but also by providing national parliaments of the member states a more active role. This book chapter aims to present how the recent treaty novelties regarding national parliaments affect the balance of power in the intergovernmental system of EU governance. On a more theoretical level, it explores how the shared European intellectual traditions on sovereignty have influenced these developments, and how they may further transfor the EU from a dominantly intergovernmental into a parliamentary polity.