This study examines when and why members of the European Parliament (EP) use
parliamentary questions as a form of fire alarm oversight. We argue that the multilevel
nature of the EU political system allows members of the EP from national opposition
parties to use parliamentary questions to alert the European Commission to governments’
failures to implement EU policy. Representation in the EP provides the only avenue for
such oversight for national opposition parties. Using a new sample of EP parliamentary
questions, we demonstrate that MEPs from national opposition parties are more likely to
alert the Commission to violations of EU law in their own member states. These parliamentary
questions may lead the Commission to take legal action against member-state
governments.
Dieser Eintrag ist Teil der Universitätsbibliographie.
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