The European Parliament and the Constitutionalisation of European Law

This chapter examines the European Parliament’s (EP) so-far overlooked role in the development of European law. It argues that the EP and its legal committee contributed to the development of a constitutional practice within the European Community (EC). Despite its weak legislative authority, the EP played an important role in legitimising the constitutional interpretation of European law by positioning itself as Europe’s democratic voice, through rhetorical strategies, performing as a parliament and by providing a public forum, in close conjunction with the other EC/EU institutions. The EP contributed at key moments. In the 1960s, it supported the ECJ constitutional interpretation of European law. In subsequent decades, the EP’s Legal Committee acted as a “norm entrepreneur”, cooperating with the Commission’s Legal Service and advocating for a federalist vision of integration. The chapter concludes that, while the EP lacked legislative power, its discursive strategies helped construct and legitimise the constitutional practice.