The Amendments as Indicators of Committee Power and Dynamics in the European Parliament

This paper analyses the amendments that are introduced, discussed and then voted in the committee and plenary stage of the European Parliament. More specifically, it makes an observation and an assessment of the existing correlations between the initial number of amendments to a report and the subsequent result of votes in the House. It investigates what the number of these amendments can reveal about the legislative process in the Parliament and tries to identify the stage at which the decision is in fact taken. The understanding of the European Parliament’s internal structure has, until recently, caused many scholars to only look at amendments introduced by MEPs at plenary stage without considering the set up of the amendments system in committees. Using quantitative data on amendment numbers on a sample of committees, cross-referenced with qualitative data resulted from fieldwork in the EP committees through process-tracing, the paper will analyse the EP amendments system in committee, in an effort to establish if parliamentary committees are in fact the principle EP arena where decisions are taken. The findings reveal that the initial position taken by a committee on a proposal is mirrored in the result of votes in plenary and that amendment numbers are significantly lower in plenary than in committee. Amendments introduced to the text of the proposed legislation, or to the text of a report at committee and plenary stage, indicate this. Their decrease in number in plenary bears proof of the institution’s commitment to solve the possible conflicts and diverging views through negotiation, internalising and solving in committee, rather than in plenary, the conflict and ideological differences between MEPs. Therefore, the role played by committees in finding, not only a common committee line, but also an EP position, underlines their importance and their influence over the entire Chamber.