European Parliament's scrutiny of the European Council: The use of Parliament resolutions

European Parliament - EPRS Policy podcasts

European Parliament Webmaster

Government & Organizations, Non-profit

4.8 • 13 Ratings

🗓️ 4 October 2024

⏱️ 7 minutes

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Summary

The need for accountability and increased scrutiny of the European Council has been a constant theme in the European Parliament's resolutions throughout the 2019-2024 legislative term. The increased need to scrutinise the European Council also results from the changing role of the institution over recent years. In this podcast, we analyse the need for democratic oversight of the European Council and outline the different tools at Parliament's disposal to do so. We also look at the content of Parliament's resolutions addressing the European Council and the messages it sends to the EU leaders.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcasts.
0:05.0	As the European Council's role and influence have increased over the past years, fueled by the various crises the EU has had to face, so has the need for scrutiny.
0:15.0	European Parliament resolutions are one way of doing that. But what other tools does the Parliament have, or should have,
0:22.1	to increase democratic oversight of the European Council? Stay with us.
0:28.9	Under the pressure of the financial crisis, the COVID pandemic, or the most recent war in Ukraine,
0:35.1	the European Council, which represents EU member states in Brussels,
0:39.0	has expanded its influence over policymaking and has de facto assumed executive powers
0:44.7	not assigned to it by the treaties.
0:47.6	As the only democratically elected EU institution, the European Parliament has sounded the alarm
0:53.3	bell about this growing institutional imbalance and called for measures to remedy it.
0:58.0	But what powers does the European Parliament hold over the European Council?
1:03.0	While the Parliament has several instruments to hold the Commission and its President accountable,
1:09.0	like censoring it through a vote of confidence, it can't do the same with the European Council and its President accountable, like censoring it through a vote of confidence,
1:11.8	it can't do the same with the European Council and its President.
1:15.9	Having said that, it does have some tools to scrutinize the activities of the European Council.
1:21.5	For example, the plenary debates organized with the President of the European Council after
1:26.1	its meetings, which give MEPs a chance to scrutinize results. Members of the European Council after its meetings, which give MAPs a chance
1:28.8	to scrutinize results. Members of the European Parliament can also send written questions to the
1:34.4	President of the European Council, a practice that started with the first full-time President
1:39.2	Herman Van Rompuy, and has been maintained by both of his successors, Donald Tusk and
1:45.2	Charles Michel. But perhaps one of the most effective ways for the Parliament to express its
1:50.3	views on the EU political process and scrutinise the work of the European Council is through
	...

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