The European parliament at fifty: A view from the inside

Abstract

This article offers three different perspectives on the changing role and behaviour of the European Parliament as seen by 'insiders'. The first concentrates on the overall success of the Parliament in transforming its constitutional position. The second contrasts the dominant position of budgetary politics in the 1980s with the much more variegated shape of the Parliament's role in policy-making now. The third underlines how parliamentary 'oversight' has assumed greater importance in response to the higher visibility of the impact of EU laws.