The European Parliament in Turbulent Times

The European Parliament has faced turbulence in recent years. Externally, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis has brought cost of living concerns to the foreground. Internally, political fragmentation in the Parliament increased as the 2019 European elections broke the longstanding majority of the EPP and S&D European political groups. Legislatively, the European Green Deal resulted in discussions on far-reaching and highly visible climate measures such as the de facto ban on the sale of fossil fuel cars from 2035 onward. This paper aims at examining the impact of these different kinds of turbulence on politicisation and political conflicts concerning climate action in the European Parliament. As the European Parliament has traditionally been viewed as the most ambitious institution and a driver of EU climate policymaking, a faltering of this role could have large repercussions for the EU climate agenda. I plan to analyse the impact of turbulence through a content analysis of plenary debates on a few selected key files, complemented by interviews with relevant policymakers and a content analysis of statements in EU-centred media outlets. Rather than analysing roll-call votes, this method aims at giving insight in the positions and arguments of MEPs, and the disagreement that might exist between them even if the legislation is adopted. In doing so, the paper promises to shed light on the impact of broader turbulence beyond crises on the European Parliament’s policymaking. Moreover, it aims to lay the groundwork for further research on how political conflicts on the climate transition can be resolved.