The European Parliament and national parliaments in the EU Treaty reform process : a comparative analysis from the Treaties of Rome until Lisbon

This bachelor thesis presents research on the question “How has the EU Treaty reform process evolved in integrating the European Parliament and national parliaments”. A historical and comparative analysis is used to compare the Treaty reform process since 1958 as identified by Treaty provisions with the actual legal mandates in the reform process. The study will examine how the European Parliament (EP) and national parliaments were integrated and pushed for reform themselves. The upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe and the possibilities it presents for the EU’s constitutional development are analysed. It is found that Treaty reform evolved dominated by the member states with an integration of the EP through them as well as through its strategic behaviour. The findings are contextualised considering the EU’s democratic legitimacy, constitutional development, and referring to the Conference on the Future of Europe.