The Barroso Drama Enhancing Parliamentary Control Over the European Commission and the Member States

Abstract

Appointment and Censure of the European Commission — Development of Rules of Constitutional Practice — Parliamentary committee hearings 2004 — Guidelines on Approval Procedure of the Commission — Framework Agreement 2005 between European Parliament and Commission — Clash between Parliament and Council on control of European Commission — Responsibility of individual Commissioners.

Unwritten rules shaping the EU's ‘form of government’: A study of conventions and their constitutional implications

“…69 When establishing a procedure for its investiture as a college, the legal and political implications were not yet exemplified. 70 It was in this legislative vacuum that the EP introduced an informal rule, deeming it necessary to hold hearings of individuals proposed for appointment before the relevant parliamentary committees. Such hearings were to be scheduled prior to the presentation of the program and the vote of the entire Commission.…”