Development of the Role of National Parliaments in the European Union

Abstract

This study focuses on the historical development of the role of national parliaments in the European Union (EU). The study first deals with questions such as what the parliament is, how parliaments are structured, what the functions of a parliament are, and how, over time, national parliaments have lost their power, while the European Parliament has strengthened its own. The main part of the work refers to the influence and role of national parliaments through different periods of the development of the EU, starting with the foundation of the organisation with the Lisbon Treaty. National parliaments have always been part of the EU political system, although hidden behind their governments, and are called upon to play a direct role on extraordinary and limited occasions such as the ratification of treaty reforms.