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The subnational foundations of the European Parliament

Authors
  • Wagner, Wolfgang
Publication Date
Mar 30, 2022
Source
University of Ljubljana
Keywords
Language
English
License
Green
External links

Abstract

The powerful, directly-elected European Parliament is one of the most distinguishing features of the European Union. However, even the most elaborate theory of institutional choice, namely the rationalist institutional choice theory, is unable to explain why some member-states have held strong preferences for strengthening this institution. This article presents a constructivist explanation that traces support for the European Parliament back to the principles of direct parliamentary legitimation which are institutionalised in these member-states' regional policies. A comparison between constuctivist expectations and member-states' observable preferences on the introduction of a co-decision procedure during the Maastricht negotiations illustrates the plausibility of this explanation.

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