7 - Legal Advice in the European Parliament

Summary

Chapter 7 explains the (modest) role of the Legal Service of the European Parliament in the Parliament’s decision-making. The Parliament has no obligation to consult the Legal Service as part of its work, and politicians, who in general dislike being constrained by the law or lawyers, seldom do so. Consequently, the main task of the Parliament’s Legal Service has been to defend and advance the European Parliaments institutional prerogatives in institutional battles over EU decision-making practices. Many of the tasks that occupy its institutional counterparts in the Council and the Commission belong in the Parliament to the EP Legal Affairs Committee, which exercises political judgment on legal matters. Its Legal Service, when consulted at all, is usually tasked with providing options for solutions. Given its weak procedural standing, there is strong pressure on it to make itself useful. The Parliament is essentially a free market of legal advice. MEPs gather legal opinions from various sources until they receive the ‘right’ answer.