Parliaments are the central institutions in European systems of representative democracy. Traditionally, the idea that parliament is at the core of democracy has been intertwined with the existence of the independent nation-state. Although international organizations often also have assemblies of national representatives, these are not directly elected and they mainly function as consultative bodies without any legislative powers.

Reflecting the mix of intergovernmental and supranational modes of governance in the European Union (EU), the European Parliament (EP) is directly elected and has considerable influence over policy making, but is deprived of many of the powers that have traditionally been the prerogative of the parliaments at the national level. The EP lacks the right of legislative initiative, it largely holds no formal powers in those policy areas that within the EU are still based on intergovernmental bargaining (such as foreign policy), and it has no influence in...