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Rising to a Challenge? Ten Years of Parliamentary Accountability of the European Semester

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  • Tomasz P. Woźniakowski

    (Hertie School, Germany)

  • Aleksandra Maatsch

    (Willy Brandt Centre for German and European Studies, University of Wroclaw, Poland)

  • Eric Miklin

    (Department of Political Science, University of Salzburg, Austria)

Abstract

As a result of the euro crisis, EU economic governance has been reformed and EU institutions have gained new competences regarding national budgets, with the European Semester (the annual cycle of economic surveillance of the member states) being the most prominent example. With the Commission and the Council being the main actors, and the European Parliament playing only a minor role, a debate about the democratic legitimacy of the Semester and the role of national parliaments (NPs) in this regard has unfolded. This thematic issue, therefore, addresses the question of how parliamentary accountability of the European Semester has evolved: Have NPs met the challenge by adapting to the new situation in a way that allows them to hold the executive accountable? While the contributions to this thematic issue show significant variation across NPs, overall they reveal a rather pessimistic picture: Despite several institutional innovations concerning the reforms of internal rules and procedures, the rise of independent fiscal institutions, inter-parliamentary cooperation, and hearings with the European Commissioners, NPs have remained rather weak actors in EU economic governance also ten years after the Semester’s introduction. Whether recent changes linked to the establishment of the Recovery and Resilience Facility introduced in response to the Covid-19 crisis will change the picture significantly remains to be examined.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomasz P. Woźniakowski & Aleksandra Maatsch & Eric Miklin, 2021. "Rising to a Challenge? Ten Years of Parliamentary Accountability of the European Semester," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 96-99.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v:9:y:2021:i:3:p:96-99
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Berthold Rittberger, 2014. "Integration without Representation? The European Parliament and the Reform of Economic Governance in the EU," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(6), pages 1174-1183, November.
    2. Sonja Bekker, 2021. "The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility: A Next Phase in EU Socioeconomic Governance?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 175-185.
    3. Ivana Skazlic, 2021. "Routine or Rare Activity? A Quantitative Assessment of Parliamentary Scrutiny in the European Semester," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 112-123.
    4. Cristina Fasone, 2021. "Do Independent Fiscal Institutions Enhance Parliamentary Accountability in the Eurozone?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 135-144.
    5. Thomas Winzen, 2021. "The European Semester and Parliamentary Oversight Institutions Inside and Outside of the Euro Area," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 100-111.
    6. Ben Crum, 2013. "Saving the Euro at the Cost of Democracy?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 614-630, July.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mišík, Matúš & Oravcová, Veronika, 2022. "Ex Ante Governance in the European Union: Energy and climate policy as a ‘test run’ for the post-pandemic recovery," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Tomasz P. Woźniakowski, 2021. "Accountability in EU Economic Governance: European Commissioners in Polish Parliament," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 155-162.
    3. Cristina Fasone, 2021. "Do Independent Fiscal Institutions Enhance Parliamentary Accountability in the Eurozone?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 135-144.
    4. Ivana Skazlic, 2021. "Routine or Rare Activity? A Quantitative Assessment of Parliamentary Scrutiny in the European Semester," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 112-123.
    5. Sonja Bekker, 2021. "The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility: A Next Phase in EU Socioeconomic Governance?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 175-185.
    6. Karolina Borońska-Hryniewiecka, 2021. "Accountability Revisited: Parliamentary Perspectives on the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination, and Governance," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 145-154.

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