The European Parliament also has limited powers of executive accountability (the executive being the Council of Ministers and the Commission). Parliament can question and approve the incoming Commission by passing a vote of confidence; they can choose to pass a vote of no confidence if they do not like the Commission (as with Rocco Buttiglione, who was chosen despite his controversial views of women and homosexuals). The Parliament can also censure the Commission by a 2/3 majority, as demonstrated in the events of 1999, when the Parliament came close to dismissing the Commission (only being prevented from doing so when the Commissioners resigned). Parliament also holds the ability to veto the choice of President. The European Parliament can also hold the Commission accountable by calling them to Parliament to explain their actions. However, each of these powers has drawbacks which, together, drastically reduce the influence that Parliament actually has. The European Parliament cannot dismiss individual ministers or hold individuals accountable. Although they can veto the choice of President, they are unable to put forward their own choice of President. Despite the fact that Parliament can call on individual ministers to explain their actions, they are not obligated to actually go to Parliament to be questioned (unlike the Parliament in the UK).
Low voter turnout and voter apathy is also another significant factor which shows that the European Parliament lacks validity and authority. There has been low turnout at European Parliament elections across Europe, which is becoming a matter of grave concern. In 2004 the turnout fell to less than 50%, and even pro-European countries such as France and Germany had a low turnout of 43%. This demonstrates that the citizens of the EU do not seem to regard the European Parliament as important, which undermines Parliament’s authority and legitimacy. Even newer member states, such as Poland (20%) and Slovakia (16%) who should have been enthusiastic at joining Europe and to whom the concept of Europe is still a novelty, produced disappointing results.
In other ways, however, the notion that the European Parliament has no significant powers and is merely a talking shop is preposterous. One area of power which the European Parliament has which demonstrates its power is its legislative powers. The European Parliament adopts European legislation with the Council via codecision-making. Codecision is an essential power of the European Parliament, which enhances its ability to influence European legislation. Currently, codecision applies to areas such as the free movement of workers, the environment, consumer protection, education, health and culture (however, the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty will extend the reach of codecision to every policy area, except for the single currency). Codecision has been key to enabling the European Parliament to be instrumental in the adoption of legislation: for example, it helped to implement legislation banning the use of heavy metals in the manufacture of vehicles from 2003, and, more recently, the use of patio heaters. Since the Amsterdam Treaty, the European Parliament has been increasing suggesting its own changes and initiating legislation with the agreement of the Council of Ministers. The Treaty established Parliament’s position as a driving force behind EU policy making, proving that it is more influential and proactive than considered by many.
The European Parliament also has considerable power over the EU budget. Just as the Parliament shares legislative power with the Council, they also share authority over the budget. The European Parliament can express its political priorities by exercising its budgetary powers. Currently, Parliament has the final say on most expenditure in the annual budget, such as spending on regional aid and spending on training to help reduce unemployment; however, with the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, Parliament will have to approve every single area of the EU budgetary policy, greatly increasing its power. Parliament also has the power to reject the budget if it believes that it does not meet the needs of the EU, which it has done in the past. This can ensure that the democratic and financial processes of the EU are kept in check.
The European Parliament also exercises supervisory power over all of the activities of the European Community. This supervisory power, which was originally only applied to the activities of the Commission, has been extended to the Council of Ministers and the bodies responsible for foreign and security policy. To facilitate this supervision, the European Parliament can set up temporary committees of enquiry. Parliament has done this on several occasions, and has previously led to the establishment of the European Veterinary Agency in Ireland (with the case of mad cow disease) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (to combat corruption within the institutions of the EU). Parliament is also charged with the duty of appointing an Ombudsman to consider complaints of maladministration in the EU. Both of these powers ensure greater accountability.
Parliament’s role on the international floor also demonstrates the considerable power that it holds. The influence wielded by Parliament through its work on foreign policy and external relations has given it the status of an international forum. In recent years the European Parliament has been addressed by many significant foreign representatives, including the UN Secretary-General and the President of the United States. The European Parliament has also been crucial in many important international decisions made in the EU: for example, the dispatch of the EU’s Rapid Reaction Force to Chad to help with the state of emergency; the global pressure but on the USA to end extraordinary rendition flights; and the international effort to reduce emissions and help to reduce the effects of global warming. All of these examples show that the political role of the European Parliament is now very significant, and its international voice is in fact very influential.
In conclusion, it can be seen that, since the 1990s, the powers of the European Parliament have slowly increased, and its significance within the EU has also risen. However, member states are still reluctant to give the European Parliament more powers, as they fear that strengthening these powers would take away the sovereignty of national governments. When comparing the European Parliament to national governments, the European Parliament is relatively weak, as there is no solid executive configuration, and they don’t have real power over the council. The democratic deficit has slightly lessened due to the fact that Parliament is elected by the citizens, but the voter apathy and low turnout appears to undermine it. However, the European Parliament does appear to make the most of its powers, and has successfully shown, through the Santer crisis in 1999 and the issue with Rocco Buttiglione, that they are capable of controlling the commission. Nevertheless, it is evident that the European Parliament isn’t perhaps as authoritative as it can be: for example, the ability to dismiss individual commissioners would be a far more effective way of holding the commission to account, and would reduce the need to threaten the commission with a motion to censure due to one individual.
