Pretraži
Priority dossiers under the Belgian EU Council Presidency
The Kingdom of Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, with the monarch as Head of State and a prime minister as Head of Government. The current monarch, King Philippe/Filip has been on the throne since 21 July 2013, his heir apparent is Princess Elisabeth, the daughter of the monarch. The King has wide legislative powers constitutionally but is relieved of all responsibility, with his ministers signing the bills and royal decrees. It is the King's task to appoint ...
The Spanish Parliament and EU affairs
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 established a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral system in the Cortes Generales (Spanish Parliament). The two chambers are the Congreso de los Diputados (Congress of Deputies) and the Senado (Senate). Both the Congress and the Senate represent the Spanish people, but the Senate is explicitly designated as the House of territorial representation. Article 137 of the Constitution formalises a quasi-federal system of self-governing ...
Recovery and Resilience Plans: the involvement of stakeholders and their view
This paper provides an overview of stakeholders’ activities at EU, national, regional and local level, in relation to national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs). It presents a set of latest opinions and assessments by EU stakeholders and other relevant institutions and bodies on the implementation of these plans.
PETI Fact-finding visit to Donegal, Ireland - 30 October - 1 November 2023
This Briefing, written by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Petitions (PETI), provides background information for the PETI Fact-finding visit to Donegal, Ireland, scheduled from 30 October to 1 November 2023. It investigates the issue of petitions 0789/2021, 0790/2021, 0799/2021, 0800/2021, 0801/2021, 0813/2021, 0814/2021 and 0837/2021 which raise concerns about the defective quality of certain building ...
Working with national parliaments on EU affairs: An overview (2009-2022)
National parliaments' active participation in EU affairs and enhanced scrutiny of their national governments are instrumental in ensuring the democratic accountability and legitimacy of the EU institutional system. However, despite the inclusion of national parliaments in the text of the Treaties, their ability to impact EU affairs remains generally limited. Nevertheless, national parliaments are willing to play a more active role in EU affairs by being more closely involved in the substance of EU ...
The outcome of a survey on review of EU economic governance and national parliaments
This document provides a snapshot of the state-of-play on EU national parliaments involvement at the early stage (spring 2023) of the current EU economic governance reform debate. The summary is based on replies from 20 parliament chambers from 16 EU member states
A comparative analysis of financial disclosure obligations on members of parliaments: Strengthening integrity, independence and accountability in the European Parliament
In the context of on-going discussions to strengthen the European Parliament's integrity, independence and accountability, this is one in a set of publications in which the European Parliamentary Research Service will analyse relevant international and European standards relating to parliamentary ethics, as well as the rules and practices put in place in selected EU Member States to promote the principles of transparency, accountability and integrity within their national parliaments. Various international ...
Parliamentary oversight of governments' response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Literature review
Conducted at the request of the European Parliament's Special Committee on the COVID 19 pandemic, this literature review examines the patterns in, consequences of and correlation between national approaches to parliamentary oversight of governments' responses to the COVID 19 pandemic in the EU27 and four other countries (Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States). The review begins by assessing parliaments' involvement during the early stages of the health crisis, when many countries ...
The Swedish Parliament and EU affairs
Sweden is a parliamentary democracy. This is embodied by the Swedish Riksdag, which consists of a single chamber with 349 members, elected for four years. It is also a constitutional monarchy with the King or Queen as head of state. He or she has no political power, however, and carries out only symbolic functions. The head of state opens the new parliamentary session each autumn and chairs the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs. The government proposes legislation or amendments and implements Riksdag ...
The 2022 US mid-term elections: Legislation meets politics
On 8 November 2022, the US will hold mid-term elections. All 435 seats of the House (of Representatives) and 35 of the 100 Senate seats are on the ballot. The mid-terms will not only shape the power distribution of the 118th US Congress (2023-2024) and the chances of legislation being passed in a highly polarised Congress but also provide insights into which direction the US may take in the 2024 presidential race. In mid-term elections, US voters typically set an end to a 'unified' government where ...