European Economic Governance: The Dual Emergence of a New Interparliamentary Conference and Trends of Multi-Speed Interparliamentary Cooperation?

European economic governance reforms have strongly affected prerogatives traditionally reserved to national parliaments by granting new powers in this matter especially to the EU Commission and the European Council. The European parliament, though, has not been strengthened accordingly. The Fiscal Compact foresees the creation of a ‘conference of representatives of the relevant committees of the European Parliament and representatives of the relevant committees of national Parliaments in order to discuss budgetary policies and other issues covered by this Treaty [TSCG]’. After three meetings, however, there are still some disagreements as to the conference aim, as to who should approve its rule of procedures and as to how it should function in practice; some development of this situation are expected in spring 2015.

Given this background, this paper will address two main issues. First, it will examine the setting up of the conference and the existing conflicting points among national parliaments, and also with the European Parliament. Second, it will analyze the potential emergence of a ‘multi-speed interparliamentary cooperation’. Indeed, before the first meeting of this conference took place, three groups of Member States known as the Copenhagen group, the Luxembourg group and the Visegrad group met without the participation of all 27 Member States. Hence, a study of the conditions of emergence of these reduced forums of discussions, and the current existence of similar groups, is now particularly essential.