Parlamentarization of the European commission president appointment: a step towards a more democratic European Union?

Abstract

The 2014 European Parliament elections brought a campaign novelty: for the first time European parties put forward so-called 'Spitzenkandidaten', i.e. lead candidates for the position of President of the European Commission. The thesis of this article is that parlamentarization of the European Commission president appointment is not a step towards a more democratic European Union, for two reasons. First, the European Commission, in spite of being EU's executive body, is not the executive of the European Parliament as single legislator, but rather part of a complex institutional quadrangle comprised of the European Council, the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission. Second, the European Parliament, elected in 'second order' elections, and the role of national and European parties in the EU electoral and governance system do not provide for political representation that could serve as basis for a responsible party government model. Responsibility of both national and European political parties for policy making in the EU needs to be strengthened.