National parliaments in the European Union

The purpose of this dissertation is to compare the activities of the Dutch and German parliament in EU affairs. The role of national parliaments in the European Union has been extensively discussed in academic literature, particularly in relation to the EU’s democratic deficit.

This democratic deficit is supposedly a consequence of, among other things, the small role that national parliaments play(ed) in the EU. However, this role has shifted over time. National parliaments have received more and more powers in EU affairs, not lastly through the scrutiny of their own governments and the newly introduced possibilities to intervene in the legislative process at the European level. This dissertation focusses on the use of the powers of the Dutch Tweede Kamer and Eerste Kamer and the German Bundestag and Bundesrat to scrutinize their national governments and the European Commission in the legislative process, with a particular focus on the Dutch parliament.

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