Supranational party system of the EU
DOI:
10.5922/2079-8555-2016-2-8
European parliament
Europarty
political group
party system
electoral system
Abstract
The article confirms the hypothesis that a multiplicity of parties of the European and national levels forms the party system of the European Union (EU). The authors describe the main characteristics of Europarties and political groups comprised of them as key actors in the European Parliament’s (EP) political and legislative processes. The authors adopt the institutional approach and make use of the tools of the comparative, structural, and functional analyses. Special attention is paid to the ‘two-tier’ structure — the connection between national and supranational institutions — as a key feature of the European Union’s party system. The study is based on the European Parliament framework laws, election results, Europarties’ political programmes, as well as on the comparison of the composition of the Europarties and EU bodies. The analysis provides a new perspective on the major processes and contradictions in the functioning of the European Parliament and demonstrates that the transformation of the EU from an intergovernmental association to a (con)federation has not completed yet.
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21. Hix, S., Kreppel, A., Noury, A. 2003, The Part System in the European Parliament: Collu-sive or Competitive? JCMS, no. 2, p. 309—331.
22. Hix, S., Lord, C. 1997, Political Parties in the European Union, N. Y.
23. Hobolt, S., Spoon, J., Tilley, J. 2008, A Vote Against Europe? Explaining Defection at the 1999 and 2004 European Parliament Elections, British Journal of Political Science, no. 39, p. 93—115.
24. Kreppel, A. 2002, The European Parliament and Supranational Party System, Cambridge.
25. Marsh, M., Hix, S. 2007, Punishment or Protest? Understanding European Parliament Elections, The Journal of Politics, T. 69, Vol. 2, p. 495—510.
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2. Dyuverje, M. 2000, Politicheskie partii [Political parties], Moscow.
3. Zhukovskiy, I. I. 2010, Stanovlenie partijnoj sustemy Respubliki Polsha [The formation of the party system Poland], Kaliningrad, 186 p.
4. Zhukovskiy, I. I. 2005, Partijnyje sistemy Vyshegradskih stran i evropejskaja integracija [Party systems of the Visegrad countries and the European integration], Kaliningrad, 117 p.
5. Zhukovskiy, I. I. 2011, Rekrutacja politicheskih elit v sovremennoj Polshe: nekotoryje predvaritelnyje suzhdenia [Rekrutasya political elites in contemporary Poland: some preliminary judgments], Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudartsvennogo universiteta. Ser.12 Politicheskie nauki [Bulletin of Moscow University. Ser.12 Political Science], no. 6, p. 48—55.
6. Kotta, M. 2012, Politicheskie eliti i stanovlenie politicheskoi sistemi na primere Evropeiskogo soyuza [Political elites and the formation of the political system on the example of the European Union], Sravnitelnaya politika [Comparative Politics], no 3, p. 24—45.
7. Lafitskii,V. I. 2005, Vibori v Evropeiskii parlament [Elections to the European parliament], Jurnal rossiiskogo prava [Journal of Russian law], no. 4.
8. Mityaeva,Yu. V. 2014, Evroparlament segodnya. Nekotorie aspekti formirovaniya, puti dalneishego razvitiya i vzaimodeistviya [The European Parliament today. Some aspects of formation, ways of further development and cooperation]. In: Vibori: teoriya i praktika [Elections: theory and practice], no. 2, p. 48—57.
9. Pogorelskaya, S. V. 2014, Evropeiskaya integraciya kak faktor transformacii nacionalnih partiino_politicheskih sistem: primer Germanii [European integration as a factor in the transformation of national party-political systems: the example of Germany], Chelovek. Soobschestvo. Upravlenie [Human. Community. Management], no. 3, p. 51—58.
10. Prohorenko, I. L. 2014, Problema evropeizacii nacionalnih politicheskih partii v gosudarstvah — chlenah Evropeiskogo soyuza [The problem of Europeanization of national political parties in the states — members of the European Union], Chelovek. Soobschestvo. Upravlenie [Human. Community. Management], no. 3, p. 32—40.
11. Reglament Evroparlamenta i Soveta ES, no. 2004/2003 “O statuse i finansirovanii politicheskih partii na evropeiskom urovne" [Regulation № 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council On the regulations governing political parties at european level and the rules regarding their funding] 2003, Moskovskaya Gosudarstvennaya Yuridicheskaya Akademiya, Kafedra prava Evropeiskogo Soyuza, Centr prava Evropeiskogo Soyuza [Moscow State Law Academy, Specialized department of the European Union, the Centre of European Union law], available at: http://eulaw.edu.ru/documents/legislation/instit_organs/parties.htm (accessed 28 September 2015).
12. Reshenie Soveta Evropeiskogo Soyuza № 2002/772/ ES_ Evratom “Ob izmenenii Akta otnositelno viborov predstavitelei v Evropeiskii parlament na osnove vse_obschego_ pryamogo izbiratelnogo prava_ prilojennogo k Resheniyu 76/787/EOUS_ EES_ Evratom" [Decision of the Council of the European Union № 2002/772 / EU, EAEC "On the change of the Act concerning the election of representatives to the European Parliament by universal suffrage, applieded to Decision 76/787 / ECSC, EEC, EAEC"], 2002, Moskovskaya Gosudarstvennaya Yuridicheskaya Akademiya, Kafedra prava Evropeiskogo Soyuza, Centr prava Evropeiskogo Soyuza [Moscow State Law Academy, Specialized department of the European Union, the Centre of European Union law] available at: http://eulaw.edu.ru/documents/review/obz021120.htm (accessed 28 September 2015).
13. Salomatin, A. Yu., Melikov, A. V. 2015, Evropeiskii parlament: politikopravovoe issledovanie [European Parliament: political and legal research], Moscow.
14. Strejneva, M. V. 2010, Strukturirovanie politicheskogo prostranstva v Evropeiskom soyuze (demokratizaciya) [The structuring of the political space in the European Union (democratization)], Mirovaya ekonomika i mejdunarodnie otnosheniya [World Economy and International Relations], no. 1, p. 61—72.
15. Shveicer, V. Ya. 2014, Itogi viborov v Evropeiskii parlament 2014 g.: obschee i osobennoe [Results of elections to the European Parliament in 2014: the general and special], available at: http://www. ieras. ru/pub/analitlka/5.pdf (accessed 29 September 2015).
16. Shveicer, V. Ya. 2014, Vibori v Evropeiskii parlament: sdvigi na partiinopoliticheskom prostranstve [Elections to the European Parliament: changes in the party-political space], Sovremennaya Evropa [Modern Europe], no. 4, p. 23—32.
17. Costello, R., Thomassen, J., Rosema, M. 2012, European Parliament Elections and Political Representation: Policy Congruence between Voters and Parties, West European Politics, T. 35, Vol. 6, p. 1226—1248.
18. Database “Parties and Elections in Europe", 2014, available at: http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/eu.html (accesses 4 October 2015).
19. Grants from the European Parliament to political parties at European level per party and per year, 2015, available at: http://www.europarl.europa. eu/pdf/grants/Grant_amounts_parties%2003—2015_new%20logo.pdf (accesses 20 December 2015).
20. Hix, S. 2002, A Supranational Party System and the Legitimacy of the European Union, The International Spectator, no. 4, p. 49—60.
21. Hix, S., Kreppel, A., Noury, A. 2003, The Part System in the European Parliament: Collu-sive or Competitive? JCMS, no. 2, p. 309—331.
22. Hix, S., Lord, C. 1997, Political Parties in the European Union, N. Y.
23. Hobolt, S., Spoon, J., Tilley, J. 2008, A Vote Against Europe? Explaining Defection at the 1999 and 2004 European Parliament Elections, British Journal of Political Science, no. 39, p. 93—115.
24. Kreppel, A. 2002, The European Parliament and Supranational Party System, Cambridge.
25. Marsh, M., Hix, S. 2007, Punishment or Protest? Understanding European Parliament Elections, The Journal of Politics, T. 69, Vol. 2, p. 495—510.
26. Nugent, N. 2010, The Government and Politics of the European Union: The European Union Series.
27. Sartori, D. 1976, Parties and Party Systems, Cambridge.
28. Sedlakova, M. 2013, The Role of Ideology in Boundary Maintenance of Europarties, available at: www.etd.ceu.hu/2013/sedlakova_maria. pdf (accesses 20 December 2015).