Towards an Integrated EU Party System?

Is the EU political system being federalized? According to a classic view, the EU political system is characterized by weak EU-level parties  dominated by their national branches, and European issues are strikingly absent from both national and European elections. However there are signs suggesting that this situation is changing in the wake of the economic and financial crises of the last few years. European issues now occupy a much larger space in domestic electoral contests, at least in Eurozone countries. There is also movement at the upper level; the European commission, often characterized as a most technocratic body, has called upon political parties to nominate their candidates to the commission presidency before European elections so that voters can be offered a choice between different programs. All this might be conducive to a more integrated party system. The paper will analyze this shift and discuss its implications for the governance of the European Union.