Parliamentary Attention to EU Issues in Spain

This paper analyzes parliamentary attention to EU affairs in Spain, considering to what extent changes in public opinion towards European integration, party conflict over EU issues and institutional factors, like formal parliamentary powers, affect the politicization of EU affairs. Recent agenda-setting studies explain the prioritization of issues within EU institutions, but little research focuses on how the EU affects the prioritization of issues within domestic parliaments. Has the increasing Europeanization of the legislative agenda translated into higher levels of parliamentary scrutiny over EU affairs? What incentives parliamentarians have to politicize EU affairs? By combining insights from Europeanization and agenda setting literature, the paper first analyses why parliamentary attention to EU affairs varies over time and among parliamentary groups. Second, in the light of results, the paper discusses the implications of parliamentary attention to EU affairs for the quality of democracy. The paper is based on the analysis of all oral questions introduced in plenary meetings and committees by parliamentary groups, bills, laws and Prime Minister Speeches (Spanish Policy Agendas Project Databases).