Subnational Parliaments in the EU Multi-Level Parliamentary System

John Erik Fossum has contributed the concluding chapter of a new volume on the role of subnational parliaments in the EU system.

The book Subnational Parliaments in the EU Multi-Level Parliamentary System is edited by Gabriele Abels and Annegret Eppler.

About the book

The volume attempts to close an empirical and theoretical gap in studies on the effects of European integration: the role of subnational parliaments. In the existing theoretical concepts of 'multi-level parliamentarism' subnational parliaments do not have a place until now. The book suggests possible theoretical frameworks for the research on subnational parliaments and analyzes the situation in six EU member states in detail.

Reflections on the Role of Subnational Parliaments

John Erik Fossum summarizes the trends outlined in the book and reflects on their broader theoretical implications. Fossum adresses the huge diversity among subnational parliaments, since they differ in formal statuses, jurisdictional rights and privileges, and roles played in their respective nation states. He considers the question about how European integration influences the different strategies of sub-national parliaments by a framework that includes entry, exit, voice and loyalty. European integration affects all four strategies. In sum, Fossum states that national parliaments are the key democratic actors, but in practice excecutives and non-elected experts bodies at the supranational, national and regional level constitute the real centre of gravity in EU politics.

Full info

Reflections on the Role of Subnational Parliaments in the European Multilevel Parliamentary Field
John Erik Fossum

In: Subnational Parliaments in the EU Multi-Level Parliamentary System: Taking Stock of the Post-Lisbon Era 
Gabriele Abels and Annegret Eppler (eds)

Studienverlag, 2015
ISBN: 978-3-7065-5396-4

Published Mar. 9, 2016 1:45 PM - Last modified Jan. 31, 2022 8:16 PM