National parliaments of the European Union

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The national parliaments of the European Union are those legislatures responsible for each member state of the European Union (EU). They have a certain degree of institutionalised influence which will be expanded under the Treaty of Lisbon to include greater ability to scrutinise proposed EU law.

Contents

[edit] Role

[edit] Relations

Further information: Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union

In 1989, members of Parliament (MPs) from national parliaments and the European Parliament (EP) established the Conference of European Community Affairs Committees (COSAC) which continues to meet every six months. COSAC has now gained the right to submit contributions and examine proposals on EU law relating to Justice and Home Affairs.[1]

Aside from COSAC, relations between the EP and national parliaments are dealt with by the Conference of Presidents. The EP seeks to keep national parliament's fully informed of the EPs activities and some EP committees regularly invites national MPs to discuss proposals.[2]

[edit] Treaty background

Further information: Treaties of the European Union

Because the Maastricht Treaty of 1993 expanded the EU's competencies into areas of justice and home affairs, the treaty outlined the importance of exchanges between the European parliament and its national counterparts in a declaration attached to the treaty. This declaration asked national governments to ensure proposals for EU law were passed on to national parliaments with sufficient time for them to be scrutinised by MP and that contacts between these MPs and MEPs, began with COSAC, be stepped up.[1]

This was strengthen under the Treaty of Amsterdam in a protocol stating all European Commission consultation documents be promptly forwarded to national parliaments. They then have a six week period to discuss legislative proposals, starting from the publication of the proposal to it appearing on the agenda of the Council of the European Union.[1]

[edit] Treaty of Lisbon

Further information: Treaty of Lisbon

The Treaty of Lisbon, due to come into force in 2009 if successfully ratified, expands the role of national parliaments.[3] It sets out a right to information (TEU Article 8[4], TEC Articles 61 C and 308:2[5] and Protocol 1[6]), monitoring of subsidiarity - see below - (TEC Article 61 B[5]), scrutinising policy in freedom, justice and security with the ability for a national parliament to veto a proposal (TEC Articles 65:3, 68 and 69), taking part in treaty amendment (TEU Article 48[4]), being involved with enlargement and generally being involved in dialogue with EU institutions (TEU Article 8[4]). (Further, see the Protocol on the role of National Parliaments in the European Union[6])

Their power to enforce the principle of subsidiarity is of particular note. The principle is that, unless EU institutions have exclusive power, action will only be taken at a European level if it were to be more effective than acting at a national level. If a national parliament believes this principle has been broken, then this triggers a two stage procedure: if one third of national parliaments agree that a proposal breaks the principle, then the Commission has to withdraw, amend or maintain it. If the Commission maintains its proposal and a majority of parliament's continue to object, then the Commission will have to explain its reasons. However it may still continue, as this power does not challenge the legislative role of the Council and European Parliament.[3]

[edit] Differences

Further information: List of European Union member states by political system

There are a number of differences between the national parliaments of member states, owing to the various historical development of each country. 14 states have unicameral parliaments, with the remainders choosing bicameral systems.

Unicameral or lower houses are always directly elected, where as an upper house may be directly elected (e.g. the Senate of Poland); or have a more limited electorate, such as a higher voting as (e.g. the Italian Senate); or indirectly elected, for example, by regional legislatures (e.g. the Federal Council of Austria); or non-elected, but representing certain interest groups (e.g. the National Council of Slovenia); or non-elected (though by and large appointed by elected officials) as a remnant of a non-democratic political system in earlier times (as in the House of Lords in the United Kingdom).

Furthermore, most states are Parliamentary democracies, hence the executive is drawn from the Parliament. However in some cases a more presidential system is followed and hence there are separate elections for the head of government and the Parliament, leading to greater discontinuity, yet more independence, between the two branches of government. However only Cyprus follows a fully presidential system, with France following a semi-presidential system.

[edit] List

Member state Parliamentary
system		 Overall name of legislature
Lower house (members) Upper house (members)
Flag of Austria Austria bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung)[7]
National Council (Nationalrat)[7] (183) Federal Council (Bundesrat)[7] (62)
Flag of Belgium Belgium bicameral[I] Federal Parliament (Federaal Parlement / Parlement Fédérale / Föderales Parlament)
Chamber of Representatives
(Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers /
Chambre des Représentants /
Abgeordnetenkammer)[8] [9] (150)		 Senate (Senaat / Sénat / Senat)[10] (71)[II]
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria unicameral National Assembly (Народно събрание)[11] (240)
Flag of Cyprus Cyprus unicameral House of Representatives (Βουλή των Αντιπροσώπων / Temsilciler Meclisi)[12] (59)
Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic bicameral Parliament (Parlament)
Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká sněmovna)[13] (200) Senate (Senát)[14] (81)
Flag of Denmark Denmark unicameral Parliament (Folketinget)[15] (179)
Flag of Estonia Estonia unicameral State Council (Riigikogu)[16] (101)
Flag of Finland Finland unicameral[IV] Parliament (Eduskunta / Riksdag)[17] (200)
Flag of France France bicameral Parliament (Parlement) / Congress (Congrès)[18]
National Assembly (Assemblée nationale)[19] (577) Senate (Sénat)[20] [21] (331)[III]
Flag of Germany Germany bicameral —[V]
Federal Diet (Bundestag)[22] (614)[VI] Federal Council (Bundesrat)[23] (69)
Flag of Greece Greece unicameral Assembly of the Greeks (Βουλή των Ελλήνων)[24] (300)
Flag of Hungary Hungary unicameral National Assembly (Országgyűlés)[25] (386)
Flag of Ireland Ireland bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas)[26]
Meeting (Dáil)[26] (166) Senate (Seanad)[26] (60)
Flag of Italy Italy bicameral Parliament (Parlamento)[27] [28]
Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)[29] (630) Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica)[30] [28] (315)[VII]
Flag of Latvia Latvia unicameral Diet (Saeima)[31] (100)
Flag of Lithuania Lithuania unicameral Diet (Seimas)[32] (141)
Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg unicameral Chamber of Deputies (Chambre des Députés / Abgeordnetenkammer / Châmber vun Députéirten)[33] [34] (60)
Flag of Malta Malta unicameral House of Representatives (il-Kamra tar-Rappreżentanti)[35] (69)[VIII]
Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands bicameral States–General (Staten–Generaal)[36]
Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer)[37] (150) First Chamber (Eerste Kamer)[38] (75)
Flag of Poland Poland bicameral National Assembly (Zgromadzenie Narodowe)[IX]
Diet (Sejm)[39] (460) Senate (Senat)[40] (100)
Flag of Portugal Portugal unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República)[41] (230)
Flag of Romania Romania bicameral Parliament (Parlamentul)[42]
Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaţilor)[43] (332) Senate (Senat)[44] (137)
Flag of Slovakia Slovakia unicameral National Council (Národná rada)[45] (150)
Flag of Slovenia Slovenia bicameral Parliament (Parlament)
National Assembly (Državni zbor)[46] (90) National Council (Državni svet)[47] (40)
Flag of Spain Spain bicameral General Courts (Cortes Generales)
Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados)[48] (350) Senate (Senado)[49] (259)
Flag of Sweden Sweden unicameral Diet (Riksdagen)[50] (349)
Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom bicameral[X] Parliament[51]
House of Commons[51] (646) House of Lords[51] (751)
I^ : Due to Belgium's complex federal structure the Brussels Regional Parliament (Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Parlement / Parlement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale / Brüsseler Regionalparlament)[52] [53] (89, regional assembly), Flemish Parliament (Vlaams Parlement)[54] (124, regional and community assembly), the Walloon Parliament (Parlement wallon)[55] [56] (75, regional assembly), the Parliament of the French Community (Parlement de la Communauté française)[57] (94, community assembly) and the Parliament of the German-speaking Community (Parlament der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft)[58] (25, community assembly) have competences in federal legislation that affects their interests.
II^ : In addition to the 71 elected senators, the ruling monarch's children (or, in case there are none, her or his siblings) are also entitled to sit in the Senate after reaching the age of 18 and entitled to vote after reaching the age of 21 as senators by law (senator van rechtswege / sénateur de droit / Senator von Rechts wegen), although they do not use the right to vote by constitutional convention. There are currently three such senators.
III^ : The number of Senators will gradually increase to 343 with the 2008 Senate election and 348 with the 2011 Senate election to reflect changes in French demography.
IV^ : In legislation which affects the autonomous province of the Åland Islands, its Parliament (Lagting)[59] (30) also has legislative competences.
V^ : While there is a Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) similar to the Austrian Federal Assembly, it is not simply a joint session of the Federal Diet and the Federal Council and as such not the overall name of the legislature.
VI^ : Technically, the Federal Diet only has 598 members; the additional sixteen seats are overhang seats resulting from the 2005 election.
VII^ : In addition to the 315 elected members, there are currently seven senators for life (senatore a vita); these include three former Italian Presidents, who are ex officio senators for life, as well as four senators appointed by the President "for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". There can only be five appointed senators in addition to the ex officio ones at any one time.
VIII^ : Technically, the Federal Diet only has 65 members; the additional four seats are overhang seats to ensure a majority of MPs for the party which gained the most votes in the 2008 election.
IX^ : The name Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on the rare occasions when both houses sit together.
X^ : In legislation which affects the overseas territory of Gibraltar, its Parliament[60] (17) also has legislative competences.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Europa glossary: National parliaments. European Union website (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  2. ^ Relations with the Member States’ national parliaments. European Parliament website (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  3. ^ a b Treaty of Lisbon: A more democratic and transparent Europe. European Union website (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  4. ^ a b c Treaty of Lisbon: Amendments to the Treaty on European Union (PDF). Eur-Lex website (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  5. ^ a b Treaty of Lisbon: Amendments to the Treaty on Establishing the European Community (PDF). Eur-Lex website (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  6. ^ a b Treaty of Lisbon: Protocol on the Role of National Parliaments in the European Union (PDF). Eur-Lex website (2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  7. ^ a b c Parlamentsdirektion (2006-06-27). The Austrian Parliament / Österreichisches Parlament. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  8. ^ de Kamer — la Chambre (2006-06-27). de Kamer / la Chambre. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  9. ^ Central Intelligence Agency (2006-06-13). Belgium — Government. The World Factbook. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
  10. ^ Belgian Senate (2005-01-18). Belgische Senaat / Belgian Senate / Sénat de Belgique / Belgischer Senat. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  11. ^ National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria (2006-12-28). National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria / Народно събрание на Република България. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
  12. ^ House of Representatives (2006-06-27). House of Representatives / Chambre des Représentants / Βουλή των Αντιπροσώπων / Temsilciler Meclisi. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  13. ^ Parliament of the Czech Republic (2004-12-18). Parlament České republiky, Poslanecká sněmovna / Parliament of the Czech Republic, Chamber of Deputies / Le Parlement de la République tchèque, Chambre des députés / Das Parlament der Tschechischen Republik, das Abgeordnetenhaus. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  14. ^ Parliament of the Czech Republic (2006-06-27). Senát Parlamentu České republiky / Parliament of the Czech Republic — Senate. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  15. ^ Folketing (2006-06-27). Folketinget / Folketing / Folketing / Folketing. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  16. ^ Riigikogu (2006-06-27). Riigikogu / Riigikogu / Рийгикогу. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  17. ^ Parliament of Finland (2005-01-18). Parliament of Finland / Suomen Eduskunta / Le Parlement de Finlande / Riksdagen. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  18. ^ Assemblée nationale (2006-11-28). Assemblée nationale — La révision de la Constitution et le Congrès. Retrieved on 2006-11-28.
  19. ^ Assemblée nationale (2006-06-27). National Assembly / Assemblée nationale / Nationalversammlung / Assemblea nazionale / Asamblea Nacional. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  20. ^ Sénat (2006-06-27). Sénat. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  21. ^ Central Intelligence Agency (2006-06-13). France — Government. The World Factbook. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
  22. ^ Internet-Dienst des Deutschen Bundestages (2006-06-27). German Bundestag / Bundestag allemand / Deutscher Bundestag. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  23. ^ Bundesrat (2006-06-27). Bundesrat / Bundesrat / Bundesrat. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  24. ^ Hellenic Parliament (2006-06-27). Hellenic Parliament / Βουλή των Ελλήνων. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  25. ^ National Assembly (2006-06-27). House of the Nation / Az ország háza. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  26. ^ a b c Houses of the Oireachtas (2006-06-27). Houses of the Oireachtas / Tithe an Oireachtais. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  27. ^ Parliament (2006-06-27). Parlamento italiano. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  28. ^ a b Central Intelligence Agency (2006-06-13). Italy — Government. The World Factbook. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
  29. ^ Chamber of Deputies (2006-06-27). المجلس / The Chamber of Deputies / La Chambre des Députés / Die Abgeordnetenkammer / La Camera dei Deputati / Cámara de los Diputados. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  30. ^ Senate of the Republic (2006-06-27). Senato della Repubblica. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  31. ^ Latvijas Republikas Saeima (2003-02-18). Saeima — the Latvian Parliament / Latvijas Republikas Saeima. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  32. ^ Office of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (2006-06-27). Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania / Le Parlement de la Republique de Lituanie / Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  33. ^ Chambre des Députés (2006-06-27). Chambre des Députés. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  34. ^ Central Intelligence Agency (2006-06-13). Luxembourg — Government. The World Factbook. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
  35. ^ House of Representatives (2006-06-27). House of Representatives. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  36. ^ Parliament (2004-10-19). The Dutch Parliament / Het Parlement. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  37. ^ Dienst Communicatie (2006-06-27). House of Representatives of the States–General / Tweede Kamer der Staten–Generaal. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  38. ^ Senate (2006-06-27). Senate of the States–General / Eerste Kamer der Staten–Generaal. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  39. ^ Chancellery of the Sejm (2006-06-26). The Sejm of the Republic of Poland / Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  40. ^ Senate (2006-06-26). The Senate of the Republic of Poland / Senat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  41. ^ Assembly of the Republic (2006-06-27). The Assembly of the Republic / L'Assemblée de la République / Assembleia da República. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  42. ^ Parliament of Romania (2006-12-22). Parliament of Romania / Le Parlament de la Roumanie / Parlamentul României. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
  43. ^ Chamber of Deputies (2006-12-28). Parliament of Romania — Chamber of Deputies / Le Parlament de la Roumanie — Chambre des Députés / Parlamentul României — Camera Deputaţilor. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
  44. ^ Senate (2006-12-28). Parliament of Romania — Senate / Le Parlament de la Roumanie — Sénat / Parlamentul României. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
  45. ^ National Council of the Slovak Republic (2006-06-27). National Council of the Slovak Republic / Nationalrat der Slowakischen Republik / Národná rada Slovenskej republiky. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  46. ^ National Assembly (2006-06-27). Republic of Slovenia National Assembly / Državni zbor Republike Slovenije. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  47. ^ National Council (2006-01-05). National Council of the Republic of Slovenia / Državni svet Republike Slovenije. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  48. ^ Congreso de los Diputados (2004-06-07). Congress of Deputies / Congreso de los Diputados. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  49. ^ Senate (2006-06-09). The Senate of Spain / El Senado de España. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  50. ^ Riksdagen / Riksdagen (2006-06-27). Riksdagen. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  51. ^ a b c Information Policy Division, Office of Public Sector Information (2006-06-27). Houses of Parliament. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  52. ^ CIRB-CIBG (2006-05-05). Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Parlement / Brussels Regional Parliament / Parlement de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale / Brüsseler Regionalparlament. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  53. ^ Federal Government of Belgium (2006-06-28). Brussels–Capital Region. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
  54. ^ Flemish Parliament (2006-06-27). Vlaams Parlement / Flemish Parliament / Parlement flamand / Flämisches Parlament / Parlamento fiammingo / Parlamento flamengo / Parlamento Flamenco / Flamländska Parlamentet. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  55. ^ Parlement-Wallon (2006-06-27). Parlement wallon. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  56. ^ Federal Government of Belgium (2006-06-28). Walloon Region. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
  57. ^ Cellule Internet du Parlement (2006-06-27). Parlement van de Franstalige gemeenschap / Parliament of the French Community / Parlement de la Communauté française / Parlament der französischsprachigen Gemeinschaft. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  58. ^ Parliament of the German-speaking Community (2006-06-27). Parlement van de Duitstalige Gemeenschap / Parliament of the German-speaking Community / Parlement de la Communauté germanophone / Parlament der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft. Retrieved on 2006-06-27.
  59. ^ Åland Parliament (2007-12-26). Ålands Lagting / Åland Parliament. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  60. ^ Government of Gibraltar (2005-04-20). Government of Gibraltar. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.