CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Márton , Péter |
|---|---|
| Title | The Role of the European Parliament in the Post-Lisbon Common Commercial Policy |
| Summary | Following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, the European Parliament has gained the right to veto international trade agreements negotiated by the European Commission. This thesis looks at whether or not this veto right is enough to make the Parliament into a principal of the Commission, as understood by the Principal Agent (PA) literature. A PA framework designed especially for the interpretation of the role of directly elected principals is applied, and tested on the European Parliament. This is done with the help of the ongoing debate surrounding the investor state dispute settlement clauses of the Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The paper finds that although the Parliament does satisfy the stipulations of the frame – eliminating informational asymmetries, and channeling its arguments through its electorate – the Parliament is incapable of pressuring the Commission into policy change. Several possible reasons for this are mentioned. By exploring the dynamics of voter enfranchisement the paper also calls attention to the quality of arguments being presented by vocal civil society groups, which in turn make their way into the arguments of some MEPs. |
| Supervisor | Balázs, Péter |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/marton_peter.pdf |
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