The Multilevel Parliamentary Field: a framework for theorizing representative democracy in the EU

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of the ‘Multilevel Parliamentary Field’ as a means for analysing the structure of democratic representation in the European Union (EU). This concept is warranted for several reasons. First, the multilevel configuration that makes up the EU contains two channels of democratic representation: one directly through the European Parliament, the other indirectly through the national parliaments and governments. These two channels are likely to persist side by side; hence, both the European and the national parliaments can claim to represent ‘the people’ in EU decision-making. Second, this structure of representation is in many respects without precedent; it does not fit established concepts of democratic representation derived from the nation-state or from international relations, such as a federal two-channel system or a parliamentary network. Third, the representative bodies in the EU are interlinked, also across levels. Up until now, no proper conceptual apparatus has been devised that can capture the distinctive traits of this EU multilevel representative system, and help to assess its democratic quality. The concept of the Multilevel Parliamentary Field fills both these tasks. It serves as a heuristic device to integrate the empirical analysis of the different forms of democratic representation in the EU’s multilevel system, and it provides new angles for analysing the democratic challenges that this system faces.

Regional parliaments in the EU multilevel parliamentary system

“…One way to legitimise a polity is through representation. Crum and Fossum (2009) argue convincingly that especially parliamentary representation is the most suitable way of ensuring political equality and public deliberation, which are crucial criteria for democratic legitimacy (see also Bellamy & Kröger, 2012a). Moreover, the EU treaty itself (Art.…”

“…Hence, despite the shortcomings of national parliaments, what is put in place in the EU context can be considered as an emerging multilevel parliamentary system, which comes down to a balancing act between direct representation of citizens (through the European Parliament) and indirect representation of its constitutive units (Warleigh, 2003). This perspective has been taken by Hurrelmann (2007), by Lord and Pollak (2010),who have coined the term of compound representation, and by Crum and Fossum (Crum & Fossum 2009;, Crum 2015, who have proposed the notion of the Multilevel Parliamentary Field in this respect.…”

Parliamentary scrutiny as a function of interparliamentary cooperation among subnational parliaments

“…To check this assumption, we are particularly interested in interparliamentary scrutiny that is conducted directly by INCOs, and not of their individual units 'at home'. However, in contrast to the 'normative' (Herranz-Surrallés, 2014) approach of Crum and Fossum (2009) who focus on the representation function of interparliamentary cooperation, we rely on Maurer's rationalist argument, as it widens the perspective towards (joint) parliamentary (joint) scrutiny.…”

“…1, TEU). Since the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, specific kinds of interparliamentary cooperation have been a widely discussed topic in political science and practice (Benz, 2011;Crum & Fossum, 2009;Eppler, 2011Eppler, , 2015Fossum & Crum, 2012Maurer, 1996Maurer, , 2002Maurer, , 2009Maurer, , 2012. In particular, the introduction of rights for national parliaments to control legislative proposals of the EU Commission against the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, and the dependency of parliamentary possibilities to obstruct and sanction the Commission's activity on participation quota, have been identified as catalysts that facilitate interparliamentary cooperation (Benz, 2011;Eppler, 2011).…”

“…Earlier studies have analysed institutionalised forms of interparliamentary cooperation (INCOs) as actors of international politics (Kuper & Jun, 1995), or conceptualised their democratising effect via their function of collective representation that depends not only on the participating parliaments, but also on the cooperation as a whole (Crum & Fossum, 2009;Lindsay, 1959;Lotter, 1997;Marschall, 2005a;Rommetvedt, 2013;Wagner, 2013).…”