Legislative Powers, Government Oversight, and Implementation of the European Integration Policy by the Parliament of Georgia

Abstract

National parliaments play an important role in the European integration process. Parliaments are the main law-making bodies in defining European integration policies, and on the other hand, the parliament oversights the implementation of these policies by the government. This article discusses the practice of the Georgian Parliament's legislative activity on EU issues, the main forms of government oversight on the European integration policy, the powers of the European Integration Committee of the Parliament, and the forms of reaching a multiparty consensus on the European integration affairs. The article shows that the Parliament of Georgia focuses more on legislative activities and is weak in the field of government oversight on the European integration issues. These findings increase our understanding of the role of parliaments in the EU candidate countries where often the executive power dominates the process of policy implementation on European affairs.