Informal Leadership and Agenda-Shaping in the European Parliament – on the Process, Institution and Impact of Parliament’s Own-Initiative Reports (1999-2016)

The European Parliament (EP) is the only democratically elected body in the European Union. Yet, unlike a traditional parliament, it has no formal right of legislative initiative, which lies almost solely with the EU's executive bodies, the European Commission, and – to a limited extend - the European Council. This paper investigates how and under which conditions the EP can and does put pressure on the Commission to initiate legislation and to hold the Commission to account in these areas. We therefore examine the process, institution and impact of the EP’s “Legislative Own-Initiative Reports” (LOIR, based on Art. 225 TFEU) and its “Non-Legislative Own-Initiative Reports” (NLOIR). The paper covers the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th legislative terms.  It offers key insights into the informal leadership of the European Parliament.