Beyond comitology: a comparative analysis of implementation procedures with parliamentary Involvement

While the European Parliament currently plays an important role in the European legislative process, it is not yet involved in the decision making process on the implementation of measures. The Council still plays a dominant role at this stage of the European policy making process. Based on the current decision making procedures, which are commonly known as ‘comitology’, the Council and thereby the member states are allowed to review the Commission’s execution of Community acts. In this chapter we propose and analyze two alternative implementation procedures, which may strengthen the role of Parliament. The policies which these procedures may produce are compared with those of current procedures. Moreover, we show how the institutional balance in the Union would change if the alternative procedures were implemented.