The Relationship Between the European and the National Legislatures from the Perspective of Constitutional Integrity
THE CONSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, F.A. Amtenbrink and P.A.J. Van den Berg, eds., The Hague T. M.C. Asser Press, 2010
6 Pages Posted: 9 Nov 2010
Date Written: November 8, 2009
Abstract
The perspective of constitutional integrity reveals interesting ways to analyse the legislative power of the European Union and its attending quality. This legislative power is not merely located at the European level but is shared with the national legislatures. This is highly similar to the way the judicial power of the European Union is shared between the European Court of Justice and national courts. The perspective of constitutional integrity directs attention to the coherency of this ‘multi-component’ legislative system.
Analyzing the phenomenon of national discretion in EU law, it must be concluded that the European legislature is poor in accommodating national legislatures and empowering them to fulfill their tasks. In this regard, the relationship between the European and national legislatures is off balance.
The analysis of the Treaty of Lisbon’s innovations to the EU’s legislative system from the perspective of constitutional integrity has mainly highlighted processes of convergence in the relationship between national and European legislatures. The development of the legislative framework at the EU level may increasingly be compared with national legislative systems and is faced with similar challenges. This enhances the possibilities for mutual learning as well. As convergence of the European and national legislature enhances coherency and rationality of the composite legislative power, the gains in terms of constitutional integrity are evident.
Keywords: EU constitutionalism, implementation of EU law, Treaty of Lisbon, EU and national legislatures
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation