In a contribution to the Debating Democracy section of EUDO Cafe, Morgen Egeberg, Åse Gornitzka and Jarle Trondal summarize the findings from a study recently published in West European Politics: 'A not so technocratic executive? Everyday interaction between the European Parliament and the Commission'.
Their research shows that several rather ‘low-profile’ forms of interaction, such as MEPs’ questions to the Commission and Commission reports to the EP, are deemed quite important in order to hold the Commission accountable to the EP. The relationship between the two institutions forms a living inter-institutional tie where the Commission is virtually subject to almost daily parliamentary attention, indicating that the Commission is less technocratic than often assumed and de facto less sheltered from parliamentary oversight.
EUDO Cafe, 21 March 2014