The Role of the European Parliament President in Parliamentary Diplomacy

This contribution argues, counterintuitively, that the most important functions exercised by the European Parliament’s President are the external ones, which are expressly laid down in Rule 22(4) of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure. Among these, specific attention is devoted to the President’s ‘diplomatic functions’. This article analyses the presidencies of Jerzy Buzek and Martin Schulz and argues that these ‘diplomatic functions’ have been reinforced because of intensification of the European Union’s international activities as well as the European Parliament’s enhanced post-Lisbon Treaty powers in EU foreign policy. It is also observed that these functions are exercised differently depending on the personal and political preferences of each President. While Jerzy Buzek’s Presidency was oriented more towards the eastern European Union, the two consecutive Presidencies of Martin Schulz veered more towards the European Union’s south.