Oliver Schwarz Profile picture
Political Scientist & Mentoring Coordinator @unidue | Teaches & Studies European Integration | Co-Head of the @sudosteuropa Branch #Duisburg

Sep 24, 2019, 10 tweets

Happy to provide some thoughts on the impact of #Brexit on the @Europarl_EN at today's panel "The future of Europe" of the #epwahlsammelband2019 conference at @unidue.

@Europarl_EN @unidue @MichaelKaeding @JSchmaelter @foederalist The paper's results in a nutshell: Brexit has important implications for the @Europarl_EN over the coming years, both institutionally and politically. First and foremost, the EP will lose its British members and thus reduce its size from 751 to 705 MEPs. (1/8)

However, and even more important, the composition of the EP's political groups and its internal balance of power is set to change noticeably. For example, after #Brexit the ID would become the 4th largest group, putting the Greens/EFA on the 5th position. (2/8)

It is thus possible that some groups would ask to re-shuffle the EP's committees' composition to promote their own members to positions of power. The legislative decisions of the EP are strongly predetermined by committee deliberations. (3/8)

The European Parliament is not just an object of Brexit. It has the democratic mandate and the political power to oversight the UK's withdrawal from the EU and to shape the future relations between the EU-27 and the United Kingdom. (4/8)

The absence of British MEPs, equivalent to the EU losing nine of its smallest member states, will have important policy implications. On environmental and energy issues, it is highly likely that the EP will become more progressive. (5/8)

In the case of the EMU, the departure of the largest non-Euro member will put the Eurozone at the heart of the European integration project and could tighten economic integration. (6/8)

In the field of defence and security policy, new efforts are likely to be forthcoming to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of the EU as a global actor. (7/8)

To sum up: #Brexit means everything but business as usual. It will recalibrate the political landscape of Europe. This process will require difficult decisions and innovative thinking. Whether the new COM and EP can deliver to these challenges remains to be seen. (8/8)

For those who stumble upon these old tweets here: The paper has been published in the meantime! doi.org/10.1007/978-3-… #Brexit #EP2019

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