Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-05T01:09:02.596Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - THE HISTORY OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2009

Amie Kreppel
Affiliation:
University of Florida
Get access

Summary

The position of the European Parliament (EP) within the broader European community has changed significantly over time. As the competencies and breadth of the European Communities, and then the European Union, expanded, the EP pressed for, and adapted to, increases in its powers. Before we explore the adaptive process of the EP it will be helpful to review the evolution of the EU as a whole and the changing role of the EP within it.

A full understanding of the history of the EP requires that we examine its immediate predecessor, the Common Assembly (CA) of the European Coal and Steel Community, and the political environment that led to the initial creation of the European Economic Community (EEC). Following this, the general history of the EP will be divided and discussed in four sections: the early years (1958–1969), which include the initial organization of the Parliament and the institutional role of the EP as established by the Treaties of Rome; the first period of development (1970–1978), during which the EP gained partial control over the budget and direct elections were established; the second period of development (1979–1986), when the first direct elections were held, the EP's power of delay was reinforced, and the Single European Act was created; and, finally, the most recent period of development (1987–1999), which includes the acquisition of true legislative power by the EP through the implementation and reform of the cooperation and co-decision procedures. I focus in particular on the political role of the EP and its relationship vis-à-vis the other Community institutions during each of these periods.

Type
Chapter
Information
The European Parliament and Supranational Party System
A Study in Institutional Development
, pp. 52 - 90
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×