The hungarian parliament and EU affairs: A modest actor dominated by the executive

Abstract

Two particular factors must be taken into account in respect of the Hungarian Parliament in the post-Lisbon Treaty environment: the decreasing role of parliament at the national level and the increased level of political attention paid to the European Union (EU). If it is assumed that parliament cannot play a fundamentally different role at the EU level than at the national level, the Hungarian Parliament would not be expected to play an active role in EU-related affairs and the government’s dominance would extend to the EU. Nonetheless, whether institutional or political contexts give parliament increased elbow room on EU issues and enable it to use the opportunities offered by the post-Lisbon environment is an interesting question.