The role of national delegations in the politics of the European Parliament

Elomäki, A., Kantola, J., Ahrens, P., Berthet, V., Gaweda, B. and Miller, C. (2023) The role of national delegations in the politics of the European Parliament. West European Politics, (doi: 10.1080/01402382.2023.2275387) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

The European Parliament (EP) constitutes a prime site of contemporary party politics in Europe. Its seven political groups represent political interests and ideologies beyond specific national interests. Within the groups, national delegations exert considerable power. The research objective of this article is to generate new knowledge about the role of national delegations within political groups. The research material consists of 140 elite interviews with MEPs and staff. The data allow the article to analyse the construction of the role and the importance of national delegations and to focus not just on formal institutions, but also on informal ones which are often outside the reach of quantitative methods and data. The findings suggest that political groups can be divided into different categories. The role and influence of national delegations are strongly governed by informal institutions, in particular when it comes to distribution of leadership positions and policy making.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The research was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program grant number 771676.
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Miller, Dr Cherry
• Authors: Elomäki, A., Kantola, J., Ahrens, P., Berthet, V., Gaweda, B., and Miller, C.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences
• Journal Name: West European Politics
• Publisher: Routeldge (Taylor & Francis)
• ISSN: 0140-2382
• ISSN (Online): 1743-9655
• Published Online: 28 November 2023