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Power and transparency in political negotiations

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  • Philipp Broniecki

Abstract

Who gains legislative influence in early agreement negotiations (trilogues) between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union? Practitioners from both institutions suspect that it is the other side. Meanwhile, critics point at trilogues’ lack of transparency. This article proposes that legislative power and institutional transparency are inversely related: Opacity makes an actor more influential in political negotiations. The argument is tested on a matched sample of legislative files from the 1999–2009 period. The findings suggest that the European Parliament became more influential in early agreement negotiations – where it became opaque vis-à -vis the Council. In such negotiations, the relative influence of the European Parliament substantially increased; by contrast, the European Parliament did not gain influence in negotiations where it remained transparent.

Suggested Citation

  • Philipp Broniecki, 2020. "Power and transparency in political negotiations," European Union Politics, , vol. 21(1), pages 109-129, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:21:y:2020:i:1:p:109-129
    DOI: 10.1177/1465116519870870
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:nad:wpaper:20220080 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Thomas Laloux, 2024. "The effect of trilogues on the European Commission's success in legislative negotiations: A reappraisal," European Union Politics, , vol. 25(2), pages 440-455, June.
    3. van Gruisen, Philippe & Crombez, Christophe, 2021. "The Commission and the Council Presidency in the European Union: Strategic interactions and legislative powers," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    4. Maximilian Haag, 2022. "Bargaining power in informal trilogues: Intra-institutional preference cohesion and inter-institutional bargaining success," European Union Politics, , vol. 23(2), pages 330-350, June.
    5. Baranski, Andrzej & Haas, Nicholas, 2023. "The timing of communication and retaliation in bargaining: An experimental study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).

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