Delegated powers and inter-institutional relations in the EU after Lisbon: a normative assessment

The European Union’s system of delegated powers, ‘comitology’, underwent significant changes after the Lisbon Treaty entered into force. This paper assesses the impact of these changes on the European Parliament, European Commission and Council. It distinguishes between the changes that occurred at the level of treaty reform (which generally favoured the EP in assuming a greater role in the process of policy-implementation) and subsequent legislative reforms and developments in soft law (through which the Council and the European Commission have reasserted their powers). While the system of delegated powers has significantly changed through the Lisbon reforms, it falls short of the expectations and intentions that led to these changes. The key objectives behind the reform – a simplification of a highly complex system of centralised policy implementation and greater democratic accountability through an upgrading of the EP’s role – have only partially been achieved. To some extent recent developments indicate a step back.