The Party Federations

We have already seen that the European Party Federations are extra-parliamentary organisations of national parties, while the groups exist to influence the European Parliament. Not all the groups correspond to a Federation. Some national parties are members of an EP group without being part of the corresponding federation. (The British Conservatives are, for example, in the EPP group, but not in the EPP Federation). The federations may also be concerned with European co-operation that goes wider than the EU itself; for instance, they may be important sites for co-operation between the political parties of Western Europe and those in the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe. The groups on the other hand, are limited to organising for influence over the legislative and financial powers of one specific EU institution: The European Parliament.

Nonetheless, the emergence of the EU as the most important transnational political arena in Europe encouraged the Federations to focus the bulk of their activities on influencing the Union. Some years ago it was predicted that the Federations would assume the traditional role of extra-parliamentary parties. That is to say, they would concentrate on defining political programmes and election manifestos that would then provide broad orienations for those MEPs elected under national parties belonging to the Federation. However, EU elections have proved dissapointing as mechanisms fo linking public preferences to EU governance on account of the second order character, and it has, accordingly, been difficult to interpret votes for national parties as 'mandates' or legitimation for the Federations under which they campaign. In addition, national parties have been reticent about commtting themselves to EU level programmes and manifestos, often limiting themselves to generalities or insisting upon derpgations (opt-outs) from common positions.

While they have disappointed as electoral links, the Party Federations have, however slowly adapted to the distribution of political power in the EU by organizing themselves around one of the main sources of agenda setting and political legitimacy - the six monthly meetings of the European Council. The four main Federations now hold party leaders' summits prior to European Coumcil, with a view to influencing bargaining and decision-making. The IGC process has served to catalyze this important new form of party orgnaziation.

In constructing a balance sheet of relative influence of Federations and groups, the verdict must be mixed. Federations are financially dependent. Groups have to be given freedom of manouvre if they are to organise the majorities needed to exercise the powers of the European Parliament - they often lead the national parties and Federations on policy. On the other hand, the Federations and Party leader's summits feed into the EU Council.