Assessing Consistency vis-à-vis Transparency Supply and Demand in the European Parliament

How inconsistent are Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) as regards standards of transparency when performing policy-making functions comparing to supervising functions? This study investigates the interplay between transparency supplied and transparency demanded in the European Parliament (EP). Recent research has investigated how transparency regimes at the EU level are designed and, more specifically, under what conditions MEPs are more likely to behave transparently. However, the question of how consistent the relationship between transparency provided by the EP when performing policy-making functions and transparency demanded by the EP from third parties when performing its supervisory ones has not been addressed in related-research. This question is normatively relevant for various reasons. First, as transparency is a key component of democratic accountability, combining a perspective of the EP as an ‘actor’ and as a ‘forum’ may tell us whether MEPs hold external entities to a higher standard than they hold themselves. Second, as transparency has become a particularly critical issue following the so-called Qatargate corruption scandal, understanding better the rationale behind transparent-related practices may have implications in terms of public trust and credibility. The study will combine data on MEPs’ reporting on their activity and parliamentary questions. This paper will contribute to research on legislative activity in the EP by conceptualising four types of MEPS as regards their transparency supply and demand and portraying them across parties and countries.