Role of national parliaments in a changing European Union

该项目旨在解决如何在欧盟政治中改善问责制，特别是各国议会如何在欧洲决策中发挥更突出的作用。大卫卡梅隆已经把这个问题作为他在英国继续作为欧盟成员国的谈判中的主要建议之一。今天，欧洲社会几乎在经济和政治生活的每一个领域都受到欧盟机构所作决定的影响。然而，自2007- 2008年以来爆发的经济和政治危机暴露了欧元区--以及更广泛的欧盟--治理的巨大问题。危机还表明，公民、议会及其行政人员之间的关系正在发生变化。在过去几年里，一个反复出现的批评意见越来越强烈，即在布鲁塞尔商定的政策与选民之间的距离太远，因为公民们感到他们几乎没有可能影响欧盟的政治议程和方向。这种看法对欧盟的合法性和效率以及国家政治制度都有很大的影响，无论是在短期还是长期。在英国，和其他地方一样，许多选民要么转向极端的政党，要么完全退出政治参与，从而表现出他们的冷漠。因此，本项目的中心目标是解决欧洲“代表团的政治链”是如何变化的：从公民到国家议会和政府，再到欧盟机构中国家选举代表所采取的政策。报告特别侧重于联合王国，旨在探讨公民和国家议会如何对政府和代表问责，以及一些问责措施如何影响政治进程和公众看法。奖学金期间开展的活动将在英国和欧盟更广泛的关键时刻到来。英国首相承诺，在欧盟和欧元区治理方面的生存困境必须得到解决之际，就英国是否继续留在欧盟举行“入/出”公投。还必须采取措施解决南欧和东南欧的地缘政治和人道主义挑战。因此，该奖学金将把学术分析和证据与政治现实联系起来视为其主要任务，欧盟和英国决策者将在英国公投及以后的竞选中遇到这一现实。该研究金将产生若干具体产出，包括一系列出版物、公共活动以及与政治家、官员和该领域高级专家举行的圆桌会议。该研究金在分析中将借鉴一些现有的研究，包括申请人自己的研究和以前的出版物。基于这些见解，候选人将能够担任英国和布鲁塞尔政策实践者的学术专家顾问，此时英国政府与其欧洲伙伴之间的谈判将进入英国公投前的关键阶段。重要的是，该研究金还将设法通过公共活动、大众媒体的评论文章和分析，为公共辩论提供信息和作出贡献。英国选民在欧盟公投中投票时，必须被告知其民主的后果。

This project seeks to address how accountability can be improved in EU politics, and in particular how national parliaments can play a more prominent role in European policy-making. David Cameron has made this issue one of his main proposals in negotiations over Britain's continued membership of the European Union. Today, European societies are affected by decisions adopted by the EU institutions in almost every sphere of economic and political life. Yet, the economic and political crises that have unfolded since 2007-8 have uncovered great problems with how the Eurozone - and the EU more broadly - is governed. The crises have also demonstrated that something is changing in the relationship between citizens, parliaments and their executives. A recurring criticism that has intensified during these past years is that policies agreed in Brussels are too distant from the electorates, as citizens feel they have few possibilities for influencing the political agenda and direction of the Union. Such perceptions have great implications for the legitimacy and efficiency of the EU as well as national political systems, both in the short- and longer run. In the UK, as elsewhere, many voters have demonstrated their apathy by either turning towards political parties at the extremes, or by exiting from political engagement altogether.The central objective of this project is hence to address how the 'political chain of delegation' is changing in Europe; from citizens to national parliaments and governments, to policies adopted by nationally elected representatives in the EU institutions. With a particular focus on the UK, it seeks to address how citizens and national parliaments can hold their governments and representatives to account, and how a number of accountability measures affect political processes and public perceptions. The activities carried out during the Fellowship will come at a crucial time for the UK and for the EU more broadly. The Prime Minister has promised an 'In/Out' referendum on Britain's continued membership of the Union at a time when existential dilemmas regarding governance of the EU and Eurozone area must be addressed. Steps must also be taken to solve the geopolitical and humanitarian challenges in South- and South-Eastern Europe. The Fellowship will hence see it as its primary task to bridge academic analyses and evidence with the political reality that EU and UK decision-makers will be met with in the run-up to a British referendum and beyond. The Fellowship will result in a number of concrete outputs including a series of publications, public events and roundtables with politicians, officials and senior experts in the field. The Fellowship will in its analyses draw on a number of existing studies, including the applicant's own research and previous publications. Based on these insights, the candidate will be able to act as an academic expert adviser to policy practitioners in the UK and Brussels at a time where negotiations between the UK government and its European partners will enter into a crucial phase ahead of the UK referendum. Importantly, the Fellowship will also seek to inform and contribute to the public debate through public events, opinion pieces and analyses in the popular media. UK voters must be informed about the consequences for their democracy when they cast their vote in the EU referendum.