Spain’s Joint Committee for the European Union. New competences after the Lisbon Treaty and the influence of the constitutional factors of the Spanish State upon its effectiveness

Abstract

The European integration process has implied a parallel loss of competences of the Member States’ Parliaments. In order to mitigate that loss of competences the Spanish Parliament, as other National Parliaments, has established mechanisms to allow its participation in European Union issues. Specifically, it has systematized its participation, as in other Member States, through a committee specialized in European affairs: the Joint Committee for the European Union. Its competences have increased since its origins and have been reinforced by the last modifications introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. That said, a different matter is the possibilities of the Joint Committee —and  therefore the possibilities of the Parliament— to really influence over Government’s position and to carry on the scrutiny of its activities in the European Union’s affairs, because  certain constitutional factors —as the form of government, the political reality or the electoral system— have an impact on the efficacy and effectiveness of the said mechanisms.