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.

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 Jančić 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 Butković 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; Jānis Ikstens 29. Parliamentary Scrutiny of EU Affairs in Lithuania: The Dog that Rarely Barks; Ramūnas 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 Pudło 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 Kajnč 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