POZYCJA PRAWNA PARLAMENTÓW NARODOWYCH W UNII EUROPEJSKIEJ W ŚWIETLE TRAKTATU Z LIZBONY
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Date
2010
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Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM
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LEGAL POSITION OF NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
Abstract
Proces integracji europejskiej w realizowanym kształcie, nierozerwalnie związany z powierzeniem władzy stanowienia prawa instytucjom europejskim, w poważny sposób ograniczył znaczenie parlamentów narodowych. Próby skompensowania tak powstałego deficytu demokratycznego przez delegowanie deputowanych do wspólnego Zgromadzenia, a później wybory powszechne do Parlamentu Europejskiego, nie przyniosły zadowalających rezultatów. Wobec stałego poszerzania zakresu rzeczowego integracji pojawiła się też potrzeba uważniejszej kontroli wykonywania władzy powierzonej. Spowodowało to, że parlamenty narodowe zostały zaangażowane w sprawy Unii Europejskiej na szczeblu europejskim. Istotnym krokiem w tej materii jest wejście w życie Traktatu z Lizbony.
Aktualnie pozycja prawna parlamentów narodowych jest chroniona zasadą autonomii ustrojowej państw członkowskich. Jednocześnie na mocy rozwiązań traktatowych, bezpośrednio lub pośrednio, parlamenty narodowe sprawują ważne funkcje europejskie na poziomie europejskim i krajowym. Są to funkcja ideologiczno-polityczna (legitymizacja demokratyczna Unii, ochrona tożsamości narodowej i państwowej), monitoringu procesu integracyjnego (zwłaszcza w skojarzeniu z uprawnieniami informacyjnymi), współpracy międzyparlamentarnej, a zwłaszcza funkcja udziału w tworzeniu prawa pierwotnego, prawa wtórnego (opiniowanie projektów aktów prawnych, a zwłaszcza ochrona subsydiarności) oraz w zawieraniu umów międzynarodowych przez Unię Europejską.
Parlamenty narodowe dysponują obecnie ważnymi instrumentami działania, umożliwiającymi im artykulację woli na szczeblu unijnym. Po pierwsze – mają prawo do bezpośredniego uzyskiwania informacji od Unii Europejskiej, i w tym kontekście mają prawo do zajęcia stanowiska politycznego wobec instytucji Unii. Po drugie – mogą dokonywać ocen politycznych funkcjonowania przynajmniej niektórych organów Unii (Europol, Eurojust) i wpływać wprost na ich działanie. Po trzecie – parlamenty narodowe opiniują projekty aktów prawodawczych w zakresie ochrony zasady subsydiarności, które może przybrać formę słabą (opinia indywidualna) i mocną (opinia kolektywna). Po czwarte – ich instrumentem działania jest wyrażanie sprzeciwu, który ma stosunkowo ograniczone znaczenie, ale nawet w postaci sprzeciwu indywidualnego prowadzi do zablokowania aktu prawnego. Oceniając efektywność tych instrumentów, należy jednak dostrzec, że jedynie w niewielkim zakresie parlamenty narodowe mogą dążyć do ochrony swych europejskich prerogatyw na drodze sądowej (pośrednie prawo do skargi do Trybunału Sprawiedliwości w związku z zasadą pomocniczości). W pozostałych przypadkach normy określające jego uprawnienia wymagają podjęcia działania przez rządy państw członkowskich bądź nie nadają się do wyegzekwowania (są leges imperfectae). Pozostaje więc liczyć, że mechanizmy, w które włączone zostały parlamenty narodowe, będą działały na zasadzie dobrej wiary.
Parlamenty narodowe umocniły także swoją pozycję w stosunku do własnych rządów. Instrumenty tego oddziaływania najczęściej nie są wprost wyartykułowane w traktatach, ale – mając na uwadze Konieczność utrzymania demokratycznego systemu ustrojowego – są koniecznym założeniem wielu rozwiązań prawnych. Parlamenty narodowe zatem wyrażają zgodę na poziomie krajowym na modyfikacje prawa pierwotnego (traktatowe i pozatraktatowe), zwiększyły też kontrolę rządów nad ich działaniem w Radzie Unii Europejskiej i w niektórych sferach (obszar wolności, bezpieczeństwa i sprawiedliwości). Ochrona tych uprawnień należy wszakże do sfery prawa krajowego, a efektywność jest uzależniona od relacji między rządem a parlamentem i od zdolności parlamentu do samodzielnego artykułowania swojej woli.
The process of European integration as is being currently realised, is inevitably connected with the conferral of legislative powers into the EU institutions and has considerably weakened the role of national parliaments. The attempts to compensate the resulting deficit in democracy by delegating national representatives to the common Assembly, or the election of Members of the European Parliament by universal suffrage, have not produced satisfactory results. As the subject matter of the integration extends it is becoming essential to scrutinise more closely the exercise of those conferred powers. Consequently, national parliaments have been involved in the EU matters at the European level. The Lisbon Treaty constitutes an important step in that development. The legal position of national parliaments is currently protected by the principle of structural autonomy. At the same time, by virtue of the dispositions of the treaties, national parliaments either directly or indirectly perform various important European functions at the national as well as European level. Those functions include: (i) the ideological and political one (democratic legitimisation of the EU, protection of the national and state identity); (ii) the monitoring of the integration process (especially in association with the rights to information); (iii) inter-parliamentary co-operation, and in particular, participation in the making of primary law and secondary law (delivering opinions on drafts of legal acts, and protection of the subsidiary principle in particular) and (iv) conclusion by the EU of international treaties. Currently, national parliaments have a number of important instruments at their disposal through which they may articulate their will at the EU level. Firstly, they have direct access to the information from the EU, and in that context they have a right to take a political position. Secondly, they may evaluate the functioning of certain EU organs such as Eurojust or Europol, form political assessments and directly influence their operations. Thirdly, national parliaments express their opinions on legislative acts concerning the subsidiarity principle, by way of an individual (weak form) or a collective opinion (strong form). Fourthly, they may express an opposition which, although only of restricted scope of application, may nevertheless block the legal act from being adopted. When assessing the efficiency of those instruments it is noteworthy that national parliaments have a limited possibility to protect their European prerogatives in judicial action (an indirect right to file a complaint with the ECJ based on the principle of subsidiarity). In the remaining cases, the norms determining its powers require an action by the governments of the member states, or are incapable of being executed, being leges imperfectae. Thus we may only hope and believe that the mechanisms into which national parliaments have been involved will function according to a bona fide principle. National parliaments have also strengthened their position vis-à-vis their respective governments. The instruments through which they operate are not always straightforwardly articulated in the treaties. However, because the democratic system must be maintained, they are a necessary assumption of many legal solutions. Thus national parliaments express their consent at the national level regarding modifications of primary law (in the form of treaties or otherwise), and have increased the parliamentary scrutiny over the activities of their governments within the Council as well as in certain spheres (freedom, security and justice area). The protection of those powers belongs to the national (domestic) law, and its efficiency depends on the relationship between the government and the parliament as well as the capability of the parliament to articulate its will independently. Pozycja prawna parlamento´w narodowych w Unii Europejskiej 87 vacat
The process of European integration as is being currently realised, is inevitably connected with the conferral of legislative powers into the EU institutions and has considerably weakened the role of national parliaments. The attempts to compensate the resulting deficit in democracy by delegating national representatives to the common Assembly, or the election of Members of the European Parliament by universal suffrage, have not produced satisfactory results. As the subject matter of the integration extends it is becoming essential to scrutinise more closely the exercise of those conferred powers. Consequently, national parliaments have been involved in the EU matters at the European level. The Lisbon Treaty constitutes an important step in that development. The legal position of national parliaments is currently protected by the principle of structural autonomy. At the same time, by virtue of the dispositions of the treaties, national parliaments either directly or indirectly perform various important European functions at the national as well as European level. Those functions include: (i) the ideological and political one (democratic legitimisation of the EU, protection of the national and state identity); (ii) the monitoring of the integration process (especially in association with the rights to information); (iii) inter-parliamentary co-operation, and in particular, participation in the making of primary law and secondary law (delivering opinions on drafts of legal acts, and protection of the subsidiary principle in particular) and (iv) conclusion by the EU of international treaties. Currently, national parliaments have a number of important instruments at their disposal through which they may articulate their will at the EU level. Firstly, they have direct access to the information from the EU, and in that context they have a right to take a political position. Secondly, they may evaluate the functioning of certain EU organs such as Eurojust or Europol, form political assessments and directly influence their operations. Thirdly, national parliaments express their opinions on legislative acts concerning the subsidiarity principle, by way of an individual (weak form) or a collective opinion (strong form). Fourthly, they may express an opposition which, although only of restricted scope of application, may nevertheless block the legal act from being adopted. When assessing the efficiency of those instruments it is noteworthy that national parliaments have a limited possibility to protect their European prerogatives in judicial action (an indirect right to file a complaint with the ECJ based on the principle of subsidiarity). In the remaining cases, the norms determining its powers require an action by the governments of the member states, or are incapable of being executed, being leges imperfectae. Thus we may only hope and believe that the mechanisms into which national parliaments have been involved will function according to a bona fide principle. National parliaments have also strengthened their position vis-à-vis their respective governments. The instruments through which they operate are not always straightforwardly articulated in the treaties. However, because the democratic system must be maintained, they are a necessary assumption of many legal solutions. Thus national parliaments express their consent at the national level regarding modifications of primary law (in the form of treaties or otherwise), and have increased the parliamentary scrutiny over the activities of their governments within the Council as well as in certain spheres (freedom, security and justice area). The protection of those powers belongs to the national (domestic) law, and its efficiency depends on the relationship between the government and the parliament as well as the capability of the parliament to articulate its will independently. Pozycja prawna parlamento´w narodowych w Unii Europejskiej 87 vacat
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Keywords
Unia Europejska, European Union, Traktat z Lizbony, Lisbon Treaty, Parlamenty narodowe, National parliaments
Citation
Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny 72, 2010, z. 2, s. 45-87.
Seria
ISBN
ISSN
0035-9629