Organising the European Parliament

Organising the European Parliament marks a substantial contribution not only to the literature on parliaments in general and the European Parliament in particular, but also to our understanding of the democratic deficit in Europe and how it might be tackled. -- Peter Mair, European University Institute

The best book yet written on committees in the European Parliament. A must-read for all serious scholars and students of EU politics. -- Simon Hix, London School of Economics and Political Science

The steadily increasing significance and status of the European Parliament has been matched by the growing interest of scholars in understanding its internal organisational and power dynamics. In this timely study, Yordanova draws on US Congressional theories of legislative organisation to provide important new insights into how legislative politics operates in the European Union. In a systematic and thorough review of a large range of evidence she shows that, while there is some scope for MEP specialisation, ultimately the European Parliament’s legislative process is heavily conditioned by partisan interests. -- David Farrell, University College Dublin

Nikoleta Yordanova is Assistant Professor of European Politics in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim, Germany, where she had previously been a Research Fellow at the Political Economy of Reforms Research Centre. Prior to that she was a Researcher at the European University Institute (EUI), a Research Assistant at the Robert Schuman Centre and an intern at the European Parliament. Her work on the European Parliament was awarded the European Union Studies Association Award for Best Dissertation, the EUI's François Mény Prize for Best Comparative Thesis on Political Institutions and the Duncan Black Award by the ECPR Standing Group on Analytical Politics and Public Choice. She has published articles in international journals including European Union Politics and West European Politics.