Accredited Parliamentary Assistants are ‘eyes and ears’ of Members of the European Parliament, yet their influence on MEPs and role as a backstage support has not been widely discussed. The scope...Show moreAccredited Parliamentary Assistants are ‘eyes and ears’ of Members of the European Parliament, yet their influence on MEPs and role as a backstage support has not been widely discussed. The scope of APAs tasks and employment status prevent unequivocal categorisation. This paper draws from the literature on ‘policy professionals’ and three types of knowledge provision: problem formulation; process expertise; information access to shed more light on their work and environment which they operate. To answer the research question, six hypotheses were formulated and descriptive statistics and statistical analysis were applied. The anonymous, online survey was conducted among APAs and the set of data was collected (N = 116). The thesis concluded that APAs share similarities with policy professionals – yet they differ in their attitude towards academic education and on-the-job training.Show less
European integration is under pressure. There is increasing disagreement between Member States (MS) on topics such as immigration, the European currency, sovereignty and for the first time since...Show moreEuropean integration is under pressure. There is increasing disagreement between Member States (MS) on topics such as immigration, the European currency, sovereignty and for the first time since its foundation, a member state has left the European Union (EU). In these debates, it often comes down to the discussion on competences and sovereignty. Is the ultimate power for the sovereign state or for the supranational institutions? This thesis examines the overlapping competences between healthcare (national) and the protection of human rights (supranational). Based on the case study of abortion rights in Poland, it discusses which factors play a role in this debate and what the EU's response and competences are. According to the EU, access to abortion is part of basic sexual and reproductive rights of women and strict abortion laws violate this. However, the EU also recognises that healthcare arrangements, and thus abortion, lie with the sovereignty of MS, as agreed upon in the treaty. Thus, the EU has no legal ground to tackle the stricter abortion legislation. It does, however, hold the power of responsibility by persuading MS to adhere to women's sexual and reproductive rights. This thesis studied the critical junctures in time from the Polish accession in 2004, the Lisbon treaty in 2009, and the rise of the PiS party in 2015, and analysed the changing positions of Poland and the response of the EU. The results showed that given its sovereignty on healthcare, the EU has no legal basis to tackle Poland's stricter abortion laws. To influence this area beyond its competences, the EU increasingly condemns Poland for violating the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHS) agreements and sponsors projects that increase SRHR awareness and provide geographical access to SHRH services.Show less
In this thesis, I argue that legitimacy is a complex concept to work with. In order to gain some clarity, it is useful to think about the different aspects of legitimacy. The distinction between...Show moreIn this thesis, I argue that legitimacy is a complex concept to work with. In order to gain some clarity, it is useful to think about the different aspects of legitimacy. The distinction between social and formal legitimacy is interesting because it reminds us that legitimacy cannot be captured by simple statements. In relation to the CJEU, Lenaerts has developed a theory of internal and external legitimacy. Especially external legitimacy is important, because that basically defines the limits of what a court should do and what it should not do. These external limits of legitimacy make that courts need to define what exactly the law is. Subsequently, courts need to be aware of those limits and not overstep them. Determining what the limits are, however, is quite difficult because the court needs to balance the different interests of the parties involved. However, if it is done successfully and the court stays within those limits, it has the potential of enjoying social legitimacy as well as formal legitimacy.This thesis applies this framework to the CJEU and it role in the EU and its role in the development of the EU legal order. It shows that the tension between the competences of the Member States and those of the EU is nearly always present and manifests itself in different ways and in different places. In this thesis, I have argued that legitimacy is a complex concept to work with. In order to gain some clarity, it is useful to think about the different aspects of legitimacy. The distinction between social and formal legitimacy is interesting because it reminds us that legitimacy cannot be captured by simple statements. In relation to the CJEU, Lenaerts has developed a theory of internal and external legitimacy. Especially external legitimacy is important, because that basically defines the limits of what a court should do and what it should not do. These external limits of legitimacy make that courts need to define what exactly the law is. Subsequently, courts need to be aware of those limits and not overstep them. Determining what the limits are, however, is quite difficult because the court needs to balance the different interests of the parties involved. However, if it is done successfully and the court stays within those limits, it has the potential of enjoying social legitimacy as well as formal legitimacy. This thesis has applied this framework to the CJEU and it role in the EU and its role in the development of the EU legal order. It has been shown that the tension between the competences of the Member States and those of the EU is nearly always present and manifests itself in different ways and in different places. In this thesis, I have argued that legitimacy is a complex concept to work with. In order to gain some clarity, it is useful to think about the different aspects of legitimacy. The distinction between social and formal legitimacy is interesting because it reminds us that legitimacy cannot be captured by simple statements. In relation to the CJEU, Lenaerts has developed a theory of internal and external legitimacy. Especially external legitimacy is important, because that basically defines the limits of what a court should do and what it should not do. These external limits of legitimacy make that courts need to define what exactly the law is. Subsequently, courts need to be aware of those limits and not overstep them. Determining what the limits are, however, is quite difficult because the court needs to balance the different interests of the parties involved. However, if it is done successfully and the court stays within those limits, it has the potential of enjoying social legitimacy as well as formal legitimacy. This thesis has applied this framework to the CJEU and it role in the EU and its role in the development of the EU legal order. It has been shown that the tension between the competences of the Member States and those of the EU is nearly always present and manifests itself in different ways and in different places. In this thesis, I have argued that legitimacy is a complex concept to work with. In order to gain some clarity, it is useful to think about the different aspects of legitimacy. The distinction between social and formal legitimacy is interesting because it reminds us that legitimacy cannot be captured by simple statements. In relation to the CJEU, Lenaerts has developed a theory of internal and external legitimacy. Especially external legitimacy is important, because that basically defines the limits of what a court should do and what it should not do. These external limits of legitimacy make that courts need to define what exactly the law is. Subsequently, courts need to be aware of those limits and not overstep them. Determining what the limits are, however, is quite difficult because the court needs to balance the different interests of the parties involved. However, if it is done successfully and the court stays within those limits, it has the potential of enjoying social legitimacy as well as formal legitimacy. This thesis has applied this framework to the CJEU and it role in the EU and its role in the development of the EU legal order. It has been shown that the tension between the competences of the Member States and those of the EU is nearly always present and manifests itself in different ways and in different places.Show less
