Elections to the European Parliament in times of crisis: This time is it different?

Abstract

The paper explores the European Parliament's capacities as an actor in the process of overcoming the contemporary EU crisis. It starts with a critical analysis of both formal and informal institutional arrangements introduced with the Lisbon Treaty and during the process of 2014 European elections preparation. It is argued that although the EP has gained powers concerning the election of the European executive chief, the EP increasingly loses its powers within policies that are the main generators of crisis. That is why the EP cannot play a significant role in overcoming the EU crisis nor can the citizens who elect it. Apart from institutional incapability, the role of the Parliament is further complicated by new circumstances - holding elections and constituting the EP under the conditions of increased politicization caused by the protracted crisis. The paper concludes that the EP, just as the EU itself, has been caught in a vicious circle where the crisis and politicization produce deep divisions, and divisions consequently preclude taking anti-crisis measures.

Rad nastoji da ispita kapacitete Evropskog parlamenta (EP) kao aktera u prevazilaženju savremene krize EU. Najpre se kritički sagledavaju formalne i neformalne institucionalne novine nakon Ugovora iz Lisabona i poslednjih izbora za EP i ukazuje na činjenicu da Parlament i dalje uživa ograničena ovlašćenja. Naime, iako je dobio veću mogućnost uticaja na izbor šefa egzekutive, on ima sve manje mogućnosti kontrole i uticaja u politikama EU koje su glavni generatori krize. Stoga, Evropski parlament ne može da ima značajniju ulogu u izvođenju Unije iz krize, a time ni građani koji ga biraju. Pored institucionalnih nedostataka, ulogu Parlamenta otežavaju nove okolnosti - odvijanje izbora i konstituisanje EP u uslovima uvećane politizacije izazvane pre svega produženom krizom EU. U radu se zaključuje da se EP, kao i Evropska unija, našao u začaranom krugu u kojem kriza i politizacija proizvode duboke podele koje otežavaju preduzimanje mera za izlazak iz krize.