Il ruolo del Parlamento europeo nell’evoluzione dell’equilibrio istituzionale dell’Unione europea. Alcune riflessioni alla luce della prassi più recente

The essay studies the development of the institutional balance in the European Union in the light of the political role played by the European Parliament (EP). The first part of the work recalls a number of preliminary concepts, which help to clarify the analysis, such as the principle of institutional balance, the ‘democratic deficit’ of the Union and the transformations of the European legal order. The second part considers the most important proposals of Treaties’ amendment put forward by the EP over the last decades and verifies how they have been implemented. The third part focuses on the evolution of the institutional balance triggered by some recent political initiatives of the EP, in particular the Spitzenkandidaten procedure and the use of parliamentary hearings. The conclusions try to draw on general considerations on the strengthening of the EP in the institutional framework of the Union.