Taming trilogues: the EU's law-making process in a comparative perspective.

Greenwood, Justin; Roederer-Rynning, Christilla

Abstract

Trilogues have become the modus operandi of EU decision-making. They are an informal but institutionalised mechanism providing for in camera discussions of legislative texts between the three main EU decision-making institutions, with a view to securing legislative compromises. Trilogues present risks to an organ of parliamentary representation through their potential to depoliticise conflict and by reducing the accountability and transparency of the decision-making process. We examine how the European Parliament (EP) has responded to trilogues and what this response tells us about the development of the EP as an institutionalised organ of representative democracy. We compare these with arrangements for bicameral conflict resolution in the United States, where similar issues are presented by informal mechanisms of decision-making. We assess the institutionalisation of trilogues from a democratic perspective, highlighting achievements and future challenges, and the value of these findings for the ongoing reflection on the EP as a normal parliament and the role of informal institutions in EU law-making.

Citation

GREENWOOD, J. and ROEDERER-RYNNING, C. 2019. Taming trilogues: the EU's law-making process in a comparative perspective. In Costa, O. (ed.) The European Parliament in times of EU crisis: dynamics and transformations. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan [online], pages 121-141. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97391-3_6

• Online Publication Date: Nov 24, 2018
• Publication Date: Nov 24, 2018
• Deposit Date: Apr 26, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 25, 2020
• Publisher: Springer
• Pages: 121-141
• Book Title: The European Parliament in times of EU crisis: dynamics and transformations.
• Chapter Number: Chapter 6
• ISBN: 9783319973906
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97391-3_6
• Keywords: European Parliament; European Union; Trilogues; Decision making; Institutionalization
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/230855
• Contract Date: Apr 26, 2019