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EP. This component is more psychological than the others, a characteristic that makes it
difficult to measure. I will assume that the people attribute high value to what they
identify with; therefore, I take the degree of the power that the people would like to see
that the EP was exerting as the manifestation of the affective part of their approach to the
Parliament.
Independent Variable
The independent or explanatory variable of the analysis is the formal power of the
European Parliament. The formal power of the European Parliament, as noted above,
refers to the formally and legally granted capacity that it can use in the policy making and
implementation processes within the European Union. The type of power that it has
corresponds to the type of functions it performs. Conventionally, the parliament has been
certain functions, like legislation, the selections of government, the approval of budget,
providing a platform of deliberations for the policies and different social and political
preferences. The European Parliament has come to perform some of these traditional
functions within certain limits. It has there main functions and three corresponding types
of power that is granted in it so that it could perform these functions. These powers are
legislative, budgetary and scrutinizing power.
The legislative power of the European parliament refers to its involvement into
the legislative process within the Union and influence that it exerts on the shape and
content of the legislations enacted at the Union level. The European Parliament exerts its
legislative power through different procedures. There are four main types of procedures,
consultation, cooperation, assent and co-decision procedures. Each procedure entails
different patterns of the interaction and the balance of power between the institutions
involved into the legislative process, the Commission, the Council of Minister and the
European Parliament.
Consultation provides the oldest legislative procedure. It involves first reading
stage of the legislation. The Council of Minister could adopt a legislative proposal made
by the Commission by unanimity or the QMV after receiving the opinion about the
proposal, which does not bind the Council of Minister. Since it does not bind, technically
it is an inconsequential legislative power. Under this procedure, the European Parliament
Convention