The Role of Political Parties in the European Union by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9780415499286
Google: L6NoPgAACAAJ
Amazon: B00FDRB73E
Barnesnoble: B00FDRB73E
Goodreads: 20203918
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2009-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

Björn Lindberg

1. INTRODUCTION1

Research on the European Parliament (EP) has demonstrated that the voting cohesion within party groups has increased continuously since its first direct election in 1979. At the same time the decision-making process between the party groups has become increasingly competitive and is dominantly structured by the left—right pattern, so familiar from national politics (Hix et al. 2006, 2007). These findings have inspired a heated debate as to whether the party groups in the EP are the embryo of a system of political party competition at the European level, which could help to democratize the European Union (EU). Stefano Bartolini argues that the party groups of the EP are structurally weak and are only able to function because they are sheltered from electoral pressures (Bartolini 2006). Other scholars advocate more public contestation between the party groups in order to stimulate a public discourse and increase democratic accountability in the EU (Thomassen and Schmitt 2004; Føllesdal and Hix 2006; Hix 2008).

Current research not withstanding, the riddle of how party groups in the EP generate voting cohesion amongst their members is neither fully understood nor solved. Through consecutive enlargements the party groups have increased their preferences diversity, but have nevertheless been able to raise their voting cohesion levels (McElroy 2001; Hix et al. 2007). It is therefore commonly assumed that party group leaders are able to discipline their members (Bowler et al. 1999; Whitaker 2001; Faas 2003; Corbett et al. 2005). Some studies support the notion that the party groups are able to enforce voting cohesion through disciplinary actions in the committee seat allocation and rapporteurship appointment process (McElroy 2001; Yoshinaka et al. 2006), while others question the disciplinary powers of the transnational party groups in the EP (Whitaker 2001; Kreppel 2002).

The purpose of this case study is to take a closer look at the mechanisms of party group discipline in the case of the services directive. The services directive was chosen since it is the most salient and contested piece of legislation passed in the EU in the last decade (Hix and Noury 2006; Borrell 2007). With a common market of almost half a billion people and services accounting for about 66 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 75 per cent of all jobs, a liberalization of the service sector promises to yield enormous economic benefits but will also create winners and losers.2 The services directive did, however, promise large policy gains but also created powerful tensions between East and West European member states and member states with high and low regulatory standards with regard to worker safety, unionization, and consumer protection. What set the services directive apart from the average legislative European proposal was its highly politicized nature, which led to massive political protests. Strong public pressure and the divisive nature of the services directive make it the least likely testing case for the success of the party group in controlling the outcomes of the legislative decision-making process (George and Bennett 2004). If the party groups

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