National Parliamentary Representatives in the EP: Vessels for National Parliamentary Interests or Transnational Parliamentary Network?

It is in the very nature of the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty on national parliaments that members of parliament (MPs) can no longer operate in isolation. A certain number of ‘votes’ by national parliaments is needed in order to flag the yellow card under the Early Warning Mechanism. Against this background an informal network of (national) parliamentary  officials has gained in importance in Brussels, within the premises of the European Parliament. The main question at stake here is whether these parliamentary officials operating within this trans-national bureaucratic network remain representatives of ‘their’ respective national parliament in Brussels or adopt a ‘European’ stance, by way of overcoming cultural differences.