The role of supranational actors in EU treaty reform

Abstract

Treaty reform, traditionally seen as the preserve of national governments, nevertheless involves supranational actors to a significant degree. This article, having re-conceptualized treaty reform as a broader process which includes, but goes beyond, the negotiations of IGCs, looks in some detail at the respective roles of Commission, Parliament and Council Secretariat in this process. In assessing the contribution which these institutions can make, the article concludes that their involvement is different from that of member states, but that their influence is nevertheless significant, pointing to issues such as the institutionalization of the treaty reform process, the legitimation of treaty changes and their command of specialist expertise in what are highly technical negotiations. Given their particular resources in this respect, supranational actors matter in the treaty reform process and ought to be the object of more systematic empirical analysis in the future.

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