How Institutions Doubt:Reforming the legislative procedure of the European Union

Abstract

This contribution endeavors to explain several dysfunctions in the European Union’s legislative procedure: the drop in the number of legislative decisions, the high degree of consensus in the European Parliament, the opacity of the Council of Ministers, the generalisation of premature agreements in co-decision, and the granting of symbolic rights to national parliaments. These phenomena are interpreted as symptoms of the crisis of confidence afflicting different European institutions’ ability to govern effectively and legitimately. To confront this existential doubt, we conclude by suggesting several mechanisms aimed at a better public awareness of intra- and inter-institutional conflicts