This groundbreaking new study shows how the process of creating an ever closer European Union affects not only the policy-making, but also the politics and polity of the Member States.

Katrin Auel is a University Lecturer in Politics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow at Mansfield College, Oxford. She received her PhD from the FernUniversität Hagen where she worked as a senior researcher. Her research interests include legislative studies and democratic theory, especially the democratic legitimacy of systems of multi-level governance such as the European Union. Arthur Benz is Professor of Political Science at the University of Hagen. He has published extensively on federalism, governance and public policy, and recently in particular on democracy in systems of multi-level governance.

Chapter 1. Introduction: The Europeanization of Parliamentary Democracy Chapter 2. Holding Governments Accountable in European Affairs: Explaining Cross-National Variation Chapter 3. Parliamentary Scrutiny of Negotiations: Coping with Structural Dilemmas Chapter 4. Deliberate Delegation or Abdication? Chapter 5. Government Backbenchers, Ministers and European Union Legislation Chapter 6. Europeanization of Executive-Legislative Relations: Nordic Perspectives Chapter 7. Backbenchers strike back: parliamentary influence in EU affairs Chapter 8. The Role of Committees in European Scrutiny Chapter 9. The Power of Opposition Parliamentary Party Groups in European Scrutiny Chapter 10. Roles and Orientations of Members of Parliament in the EU Context: Congruence or Difference? Chapter 11. Europeanization or Not? Chapter 14. Relationships between the EP and National Parliaments - Conflict or Co-Operation? Chapter 15. After the Convention: The Future Role of National Parliaments in the European Union.