Banking on meps? The Strategic and Partisan Motivations for the Parliamentary Scrutiny of the European Central Bank
In: International Journal of Parliamentary StudiesSearch for other papers by Julien Navarro in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by Camille Kelbel in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
At a time when legislative powers are being undermined by strengthened executives, oversight has become a core function of parliaments throughout the democratic world. In the European Parliament (ep), whose legislative role has been enhanced throughout the integration process, a significant proportion of the activities of its members is devoted to their broad ‘functions of political control’ on the EU’s executive institutions (art. 14 teu). The ways in which Members of the European Parliament (meps) exercise these functions and how the EU political system is impacted in turn remains, however, an under-researched topic. Focusing specifically on parliamentary questions, this article investigates the day-to-day interactions between the ep and one major EU institution, namely the European Central Bank (ecb). It seeks to establish what motivates meps questions concerning monetary and financial policies. Relying on a new dataset, we find evidence that meps’ questions to the ecb are subject to both strategic and partisan considerations.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Akbik, Adina (2022). The European Parliament as an Accountability Forum. Overseeing the Economic and Monetary Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
-
Amtenbrink, Fabian, and Kees van Duin (2009). ‘The European Central Bank before the European Parliament: Theory and Practice After Ten Years of Monetary Dialogue’. European Law Review, 34 (4): 561–83.
-
Beauvallet, Willy, and Sébastien Michon (2010). ‘Professionalization and Socialization of the Members of the European Parliament’. French Politics, 8 (2): 145–65.
-
Bouteca, Nicolas, Jef Smulders, Bart Maddens, Carl Devos, and Bram Wauters (2019). ‘“A Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work”? Exploring the Connection between the Parliamentary Work of mps and Their Electoral Support’. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 25 (1):1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2019.1570602.
-
Bowler, Shaun, and David M. Farrell (1995). ‘The Organizing of the European Parliament: Committees, Specialization and Co-Ordination’. British Journal of Political Science, 25 (2): 219–43.
-
Brack, Nathalie, and Olivier Costa (2018). ‘Democracy in Parliament vs. Democracy through Parliament? Defining the Rules of the Game in the European Parliament’. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 24 (1): 51–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2018.1444625.
-
Budge, Ian (2015). ‘Issue Emphases, Saliency Theory and Issue Ownership: A Historical and Conceptual Analysis’. West European Politics, 38 (4): 761–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2015.1039374.
-
Calvert, Randall L., Mathew D. McCubbins, and Barry R. Weingast (1989). ‘A Theory of Political Control and Agency Discretion’. American Journal of Political Science, 33 (3): 588–611. https://doi.org/10.2307/2111064.
-
Collignon, Stefan, and Sebastian Diessner (2016). ‘The ecb’s Monetary Dialogue with the European Parliament: Efficiency and Accountability during the Euro Crisis?: The ecb’s Monetary Dialogue with the ep’. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 54(6): 1296–1312.
-
Costa, Olivier (2001). Le Parlement Européen, Assemblée Délibérante. Collection ‘Etudes Européennes’. Bruxelles: Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles.
-
Costa, Olivier, and Isabelle Guinaudeau (2019). ‘Issue Competition in the European Arena. An Analysis of Parliamentary Questions in the European Parliament (1999–2019)’. Paper presented at the 15th Congress of the French Political Science Association (afsp), Bordeaux.
-
Costa, Olivier, Eric Kerrouche, and Paul Magnette (2004). ‘Le Temps Du Parlementarisme Désenchanté? Les Parlements Face Aux Nouveaux Modes de Gouvernance’. In O. Costa, E. Kerrouche and P. Magnette (eds), Vers Un Renouveau Du Parlementarisme En Europe? Bruxelles: Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles: 9–32.
-
Font, Nuria, and Ixchel Pérez Durán (2016). ‘The European Parliament Oversight of EU Agencies through Written Questions’. Journal of European Public Policy, 23 (9): 1349–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2015.1076875.
-
Fromage, Diane, Paul Dermine, Phedon Nicolaides, and Klaus Tuori (2019). ‘ecb independence and accountability today : Towards a (necessary) redefinition?’ Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 26(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X19827819.
-
Hanretty, Chris, and Christel Koop (2012). ‘Measuring the Formal Independence of Regulatory Agencies’. Journal of European Public Policy, 19 (2): 198–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2011.607357.
-
Hix, Simon (2008). What’s Wrong with the European Union and How to Fix It. Cambridge: Polity Press.
-
Hix, Simon, and Bjørn Høyland (2013). ‘Empowerment of the European Parliament’. Annual Review of Political Science, 16 (1): 171–89.
-
Hix, Simon, Abdul G. Noury, and Gérard Roland (2007). Democratic Politics in the European Parliament. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511491955.
-
Jensen, Christian B., Sven-Oliver Proksch, and Jonathan B. Slapin (2013). ‘Parliamentary Questions, Oversight, and National Opposition Status Inthe European Parliament: Parliamentary Questions’. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 38 (2): 259–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/lsq.12013.
-
Kellermann, Michael (2016). ‘Electoral Vulnerability, Constituency Focus, and Parliamentary Questions in the House of Commons’. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 18 (1): 90–106. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-856X.12075.
-
Kluger Dionigi, Maja (2020). ‘The European Parliament’s Oversight Powers in Economic Governance: Proper Scrutiny or a Play to the Gallery?’ The Journal of Legislative Studies 26(1): 74–96.
-
Koop, Christel (2011). ‘Explaining the Accountability of Independent Agencies: The Importance of Political Salience’. Journal of Public Policy, 31 (2): 209–34.
-
Kreppel, Amie (2000). ‘Rules, Ideology and Coalition Formation in the European Parliament: Past, Present and Future’. European Union Politics, 1 (3): 340–62.
-
Kreppel, Amie, and Simon Hix (2003). ‘From “Grand Coalition” To Left-Right Confrontation: Explaining the Shifting Structure of Party Competition in the European Parliament’. Comparative Political Studies 36 (1–2): 75–96.
-
Kreppel, Annie, and Goerge Tsebelis (1999). ‘Coalition formation in the European Parliament’. Comparative Political Studies, 32 (8): 933–66.
-
Lazardeux, Sébastien (2005). ‘“Une Question Ecrite, Pour Quoi Faire?” The Causes of the Production of Written Questions in the French Assemblée Nationale’. French Politics, 3 (3): 258–81. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200079.
-
Leidorf-Tidå, Benjamin, and Thijs de Boer (2022). ‘Account-Holding Intensity in the EU Accountability Landscape: A Comprehensive Review of EU Agencies’ Institutional Accountability Relationships’. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13367(July 14, 2022).
-
Magnette, Paul (2000). ‘Towards “Accountable Independence”? Parliamentary Controls of the European Central Bank and the Rise of a New Democratic Model’. European Law Journal, 6 (4): 326–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0386.00111.
-
Maricut-Akbik, Adina (2020). ‘Contesting the European Central Bank in Banking Supervision: Accountability in Practice at the European Parliament’. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 58 (5): 1199–1214. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13024.
-
Martin, Shane (2011). ‘Parliamentary Questions, the Behaviour of Legislators, and the Function of Legislatures: An Introduction’. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 17 (3): 259–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2011.595120.
-
Martin, Shane, and Olivier Rozenberg (2014). The Roles and Function of Parliamentary Questions. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
-
Michon, Sébastien, and Pierre-Edouard Weill (2022). An ‘East-West split’ about the posting of workers? Questioning the representation of socio-economic interests in the European Parliament, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14782804.2022.2029370.
-
Mühlböck, Monika (2017). Voting Unity of National Parties in Bicameral EU Decision-Making. Speaking with One Voice? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
-
Navarro, Julien (2012). ‘The Cognitive Rationality of Role Choices: Evidences from the European Parliament’. In M. Blomgren and O. Rozenberg (eds), Parliamentary Roles in Modern Legislatures. London: Routledge: 184–210.
-
Navarro, Julien (2019). ‘Il n’y a Pas de Question Idiote? Les Questions Des Députés Européens à La Commission Européenne et Au Conseil Depuis 1979’. Parliaments, Estates and Representation, 39 (2): 236–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/02606755.2019.1556378.
-
Papadopoulos, Yannis (2013). Democracy in Crisis? Politics, Governance and Policy. Political Analysis Studies. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
-
Proksch, Sven-Oliver, and Jonathan B. Slapin (2011). ‘Parliamentary Questions and Oversight in the European Union: Parliamentary Questions and Oversight in the European Union’. European Journal of Political Research, 50 (1): 53–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2010.01919.x.
-
Rasmussen, Anders (2000). ‘Institutional Games Rational Actors Play - The Empowering of the European Parliament’. European Integration online Papers (EIoP), 4(1). Available at: http://www.ssrn.com/abstract=302750(July 21, 2022).
-
Raunio, Tapio (1996). ‘Parliamentary Questions in the European Parliament: Representation, Information and Control’. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 2 (4): 356–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572339608420492.
-
Remáč, Milan (2018). ‘Parliamentary Scrutiny of the European Commission: Implementation of the Treaty Provisions’. pe 627.115. European Parliamentary Research Service. Brussels: European Parliament. (http://publications.europa.eu/publication/manifestation_identifier/PUB_QA0318308ENN).
-
Rozenberg, Olivier, and Shane Martin (2011). ‘Questioning Parliamentary Questions’. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 17 (3): 394–404. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2011.595132.
-
Russo, Federico (2011). ‘The Constituency as a Focus of Representation: Studying the Italian Case through the Analysis of Parliamentary Questions’. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 17 (3): 290–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2011.595122.
-
Russo, Federico, and Matti Wiberg (2010) ‘Parliamentary Questioning in 17 European Parliaments: Some Steps towards Comparison’. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 16 (2): 215–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572331003740115.
-
Saalfeld, Thomas (2000). ‘Members of Parliament and Governments in Western Europe: Agency Relations and Problems of Oversight’. European Journal of Political Research, 37 (3): 353–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475–6765.00517.
-
Saalfeld, Thomas (2011). ‘Parliamentary Questions as Instruments of Substantive Representation: Visible Minorities in the UK House of Commons, 2005–10’. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 17 (3): 271–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2011.595121.
-
Sigalas, Emmanuel (2011). ‘When quantity matters: Activity levels and re-election prospects of Members of the European Parliament,’ recon Online Working Papers Series 17.
-
Strøm, Kaare (2000). ‘Delegation and Accountability in Parliamentary Democracies’. European Journal of Political Research, 37 (3): 261–90. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007064803327.
-
Strøm, Kaare, Wolfgang C. Müller, and Torbjörn Bergman (eds) (2006). Delegation and Accountability in Parliamentary Democracies. Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
-
Vliegenthart, Rens, and Stefaan Walgrave (2011). ‘Content Matters: The Dynamics of Parliamentary Questioning in Belgium and Denmark’. Comparative Political Studies, 44 (8): 1031–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414011405168.
-
Wiberg, Matti (1994). ‘Introduction’. In M. Wiberg (ed), Parliamentary Control in the Nordic Countries: Forms of Questioning and Behavioural Trends. Helsinki: The Finnish Political Science Association.
-
Yordanova, Nikoleta (2013). Organising the European Parliament: The Role of Committees and Their Legislative Influence. Colchester: ECPR Press.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 646 | 353 | 106 |
| Full Text Views | 52 | 4 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 88 | 9 | 0 |
Banking on meps? The Strategic and Partisan Motivations for the Parliamentary Scrutiny of the European Central Bank
In: International Journal of Parliamentary StudiesSearch for other papers by Julien Navarro in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Camille Kelbel in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
At a time when legislative powers are being undermined by strengthened executives, oversight has become a core function of parliaments throughout the democratic world. In the European Parliament (ep), whose legislative role has been enhanced throughout the integration process, a significant proportion of the activities of its members is devoted to their broad ‘functions of political control’ on the EU’s executive institutions (art. 14 teu). The ways in which Members of the European Parliament (meps) exercise these functions and how the EU political system is impacted in turn remains, however, an under-researched topic. Focusing specifically on parliamentary questions, this article investigates the day-to-day interactions between the ep and one major EU institution, namely the European Central Bank (ecb). It seeks to establish what motivates meps questions concerning monetary and financial policies. Relying on a new dataset, we find evidence that meps’ questions to the ecb are subject to both strategic and partisan considerations.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 646 | 353 | 106 |
| Full Text Views | 52 | 4 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 88 | 9 | 0 |
