The EU Political System After the 2019 European Elections

Preface
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction—Assessing the EU’s Double Challenge
1 Europe Went to the Polls
2 The Covid-19 Pandemic
3 Whither European Leadership?
4 A Double Challenge
5 Presentation of the Content of the Book
References
Part I Politics
2 EU Citizen Participation ‘in the Union’s Democratic Life’: A Policy and Legal Analysis
1 Introduction
2 The Genesis and Evolution of EU Citizen Participation
3 The Toolbox of Citizen Participation
4 The Realities of Citizen Participation
5 The Big Disconnect
6 Conclusions
References
3 Higher Turnout at the Expense of Representativeness? The 2019 European Elections Against the Backdrop of a Socio-Economically Biased Voter Turnout
1 Introduction
Are European Elections With Systematic Lower Turnout Levels Than First-Order Elections More Exposed To Greater Socio-Economic Inequality?
2 Increased Voter Turnout in the 2019 European Elections—Greater Differences at Second Sight
3 Socio-Economic Inequality and Voter Turnout—A Potential Problem of Legitimacy and Representation
4 Linking Low Turnout and Social Inequalities: Tingsten’s Law of Dispersion
5 Are European Second-Order Elections More Socio-Economically Biased Than First-Order National Elections?
6 Research Design
Selected European Cities
Operationalisation of the Socio-Economic Situation in City Districts: Unemployment
Data
Method
7 Results: European Elections Are not More Socio-Economically Distorted Than First-Order Elections
8 Discussion
9 Conclusion
References
4 Unpacking Legislative Turnover in the 2019 European Parliament Elections
1 Introduction
2 The Landmark Legislative Turnover of the 2019 Elections
3 A Cry for Renewal: Green Waves and Populist Surges
4 Theorizing and Measuring Turnover: Renewal at Whose Request?
5 Influx of Newcomers or Outflow of Incumbents?
6 EP Turnover as a Sum of Drivers
7 EP Turnover as a Sum of National (S)Elections
8 Alia Iacta Est
9 Conclusion
References
5 The Life and Death of the Spitzenkandidaten: What Role is Left for European Political Parties?
1 Introduction
2 The Birth of the Spitzenkandidaten System
3 The Old Days Are Over
4 The Old Days Are Back
5 Conclusion
References
6 The Political Regime of the EU Through the Prism of the Confirmation of the von der Leyen Commission by the European Parliament
1 Introduction
2 Three Theoretical Visions of European Integration
Intergovernmentalism
Neo-Functionalism
Post-Functionalism
Competing and Complementary Theories
3 The Difficult Appointment of the von der Leyen Commission
4 Three Theoretical Perspectives on the Appointment of the von der Leyen Commission
An Unfortunate Incident for Intergovernmentalists
A Fair Process of Checks and Balances, According to Neo-Functionalists
The Virtues of a Partisan Debate, According to Post-Functionalists
5 Conclusion
References
7 Dealing with Fragmentation: The New Political Equilibrium and Coalition Dynamics in the European Parliament During the 9th Legislature
1 Introduction
2 The Increased Fragmentation of the European Parliament
3 The Impact of Fragmentation on Coalition-Building in the EP
4 The EP After 2019: Greater Cooperation Between Pro-European Forces
A Closer Cooperation Between EPP and S&D
The Stability of the Majority Size in the EP
A Greater Role for the Liberals and the Greens
5 Eurosceptics in the European Parliament: More Seats But Less Influence?
The Marginalisation of the ECR Group
A Normalisation of Radical Eurosceptics?
6 Conclusion
References
Part II Institutions
8 ‘They Are No Different, They Are Much the Same…?’ Post-2019 Inter-Institutional Dynamics in the European Union
1 Introduction: plus ça Change…?
2 Some ‘Traditional’ Trends and Dynamics Between the European Institutions
3 Some ‘Traditional’ Trends and Dynamics in the European Institutions
4 Plus c’est la même Chose…
5 Enter Brexit, Covid-19 and Looking to 2024
References
9 The von der Leyen Commission: An Early Assessment
1 The von der Leyen Commission in Context
2 The Appointment of Ursula von der Leyen
3 What Kind of Commission Presidency?
Policy Leadership
Organisation
Style
4 Policy Performance
Unfinished Business
The Covid-19 Pandemic
The Six Priorities
‘The European Green Deal’, ‘A Europe Fit for the Digital Age’, and ‘An Economy that Works for People’
‘Promoting Our European Way of Life’
A Stronger Europe in the World
A New Push for European Democracy
5 Conclusion
References
10 A “Geopolitical Commission”: Reaching a Point of Inflexion?
1 Introduction: nomina nuda tenemus
2 Geopolitics Start at Home: COVID-19 as the “Great Accelerator”
3 Open Strategic Autonomy as a “Geopolitical Awakening” 10 Areas of Action
4 Conclusions: Policy Implications
References
11 Balancing the Unbalanced? An Ongoing Rivalry Between European Parliament and European Council
1 Introduction: The Political and Academic Relevance of a Key Institutional Issue
2 Conceptual Framework: ‘Union of Sovereign States’, Federal, and Cooperation–Competition Model
3 Balancing Without Balance: EP and EUCO in the Post-Lisbon Decade, 2009–2018
4 The Nomination of the New Commission in 2019
5 The EUCO and the EP in the Corona Crisis: More Powers not Only for the European Council
6 What’s Next? Different Scenarios for the Coming Decade
7 Concluding Remarks: Do not Expect a Simple Answer
Bibilography
12 The European Parliament’s Practice in Scrutinizing the Commission’s Delegated Acts Before and After the 2019 EP Elections
1 Introduction: The Logic Behind the Commission’s Delegated Powers and the Power of Legislators to Exercise Their Veto
2 Legislative Vetoes in the EU: Rules and Procedures
3 The Political Economy of Legislative Vetoes
4 Research Design
5 The Practice: Infrequent Use of Legislative Vetoes by the EP
6 Concluding Discussion
References
13 The Empowerment of the General Secretariat of the Council: A Growing Challenge for Rotating Presidencies?
1 Who Is at the Helm? One Question and Two Stories to Be Told
2 The Council of the EU and Its Secretariat: The Ugly Ducklings of European Studies
The Council and the Rotating Presidency: Literature Review
The Treaty of Lisbon: The Thorn in the Side of the council of the EU?
The General Secretariat of the Council: A Dynamic (Although Neglected) Administration
3 The General Secretariat of the Council: the Power Behind the Throne?
A Series of Institutional Changes as Windows of Opportunity for the GSC
The GSC’s Strategic Reframing and Organisational Institutionalisation
Towards a Progressive Bureaucratic Ascendancy Over the Political Sphere?
4 Concluding Remarks
References
14 The European Parliament Under COVID-19: Institutional Adaptation in Times of Pandemics
1 Introduction
2 The Challenges of Remote Participation
A Top-Down Process to Ensure ‘Business Continuity’
IT Innovations in the Field of Remote Voting
Going Remote in a Multilingual Parliament
3 Political and Institutional Change: Between Tradition and Innovation
The Impact of Digitalisation on Parliamentary Work in the Last Decade
The Impact of the Pandemic on the Quality of Parliamentary Work
Institutionalising Change in the Rules of Procedure
4 A New Future for the European Parliament After Covid?
EP Staff: Towards a New Age of Teleworking?
New Opportunities for Engagement with the External World
MEPs: A New Way of Working
5 Conclusion
References
Part III Policies
15 Fighting Fires from Crisis to Crisis: The Evolution of Central Banking in Europe
1 Ideational Shifts in Macroeconomic Policy and ECB Policymaking
The Tradition of Macroeconomic Policy Ideas
The Global Financial Crisis and Social Learning in Macroeconomic Policy
“Between Past and Future” (Arendt, 1961)
2 Unconventional Monetary Policy
Circumstances Leading to the Use of the Central Bank Balance Sheet
Outlook Beyond the Pandemic
3 The ECB in Comparative Perspective: Responding to the Covid-19 Crisis
US Federal Reserve
Bank of England
4 Conclusion
References
16 The EU Budget and Recovery Plan: A Chance for EU Ambition?
1 The EU Mid-Term Budget
Proposals for the 2021–2027 Multiannual Financing Framework
Revised Proposals and Recovery Plan
The EU Budget at the Core of the COVID-19 crisis and of EU Recovery
2 Finding the Balance
The European Commission: Active or Reactive?
The Council and the European Council
The European Parliament Striving for More Ambition
3 Reform of EU Financing in Sight
4 Concluding Remarks
Bibliography
17 Riding the Green Wave? Green Electoral Success and the European Green Deal
1 Introduction
2 The Green’s Electoral Performance Over Time
Green Parties’ Geographically Divergent Success
The 2019 European Elections
3 Greening Other Political Groups?
4 Greening the European Commission?
5 Conclusions
References
18 How Covid-19 Hit Brussels and Beyond: The EU’s Crisis Management Tested by a Pandemic
1 Introduction
Crisis Management in the EU
From ‘Too Little Too Late’ …
… to Breaking Taboos
Leaving No One Behind: Covid-19 Geopolitics
2 Conclusion
References
19 The Evolution of Enhanced Cooperation in the EU: From EnCo to PeSCo (2009–2019)
1 Introduction
The Initial Driver(s): from Kern-Europa to EMU—And Beyond
Enhanced Cooperation: Intent, Design, and Context
Enhanced Cooperation in Practice
International Divorce Law (IDL)
Unitary Patent System (UPS)
Financial Transaction Tax (FTT)
Property Regimes of International Couples (PRIC)
European Public Prosecutor Office (EPPO)
Preliminary Assessment
PeSCo: Intent, Design, and Context
Permanent Structured Cooperation in Practice
2 Conclusion
References
20 The End of Enlargement? The EU’s Struggle with the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership Countries
1 Introduction
Why Does EU Enlargement Matter?
The EU and the Western Balkans—What Progress Under the Juncker Commission?
The EU and Its Eastern Partners—Before and During the Juncker Commission
Enlargement and the New Parliament
The Von Der Leyen Commission
2 Conclusion
References
21 From the Gulf of Aden to the Mediterranean Sea: The Institutionalisation of EU-NATO Maritime Relations
1 Introduction
Methodology
2 EU-NATO Cooperation
The Gulf of Aden
EU-NATO Maritime Cooperation: First Steps
Operation Sophia
EU-NATO Cooperation off the Libyan Coast
EUNAVFOR MED Operation Irini and NATO
The Institutionalisation of Maritime Cooperation
3 Conclusion
References
22 The EU’s Embrace of Geopolitics: Insights from the EU-China Relationship
1 Introduction
Background
Analysis
Phase 1: Passivity in the Face of Emerging Relational Dynamics (2012–2015)
Phase 2: Relational Dynamics Inform the First Re-Articulation of the Relationship (2016)
Phase 3: Constrained Mobilization and Sudden Identity Shocks Force Another Re-Articulation (2017–2019)
Phase 4: systemic competition and geopolitics enter EUFP rhetoric (2019–2021)
2 Discussion
3 Conclusion
References
Part IV Conclusion
23 Conclusion: The European Union Between Resistance, Resilience, and Reinvention
Index