The New Role of National Parliaments in the European Union

National parliaments face a growing number of challenges as regards the process of European integration. By ratifying European Union Treaties they have accepted a significant shift of their competences to the EU decision making system. The major question is how national parliaments could preserve their position as the directly legitimate institutions. Notwithstanding the EU efforts to strengthen the role of the European Parliament, national parliaments remain even after the Lisbon Treaty the principal subject of democratic legitimization of the European Union, as Article TEU recognizes. The economic governance established by Member States to face the economic crisis culminates the need for national parliaments to assume the very demanding role set out by the Lisbon Treaty. The application of the principles of subsidiariy and proportionality along with that of the principle of respect for national identities involves a task which is almost beyond their raison d' etre, given their different political and constitutional traditions. National parliaments need support in implementing their duties. The closer cooperation with EU institutions in accordance with the Treaty and within the framework of political dialogue is of great importance. The new conception of the multilevel EU representative democracy creates a double role of national parliaments which have to act not only as guardians of the national constitutions but also as creators of a federal European constitutional identity.