STRUCTURE

Split Level Party System

• National political parties
• Party federations
• Groups in the European Parliament

ARENAS

Different sites of Party activity in EU

• Electoral Parliamentary-European
• Government -National
• Government-European (Commission & Council)

DIFFICULTIES

With running Transantional parties in the EP

• Up to 23 national parties
• Few sanctions and rewards, so all agreements need negotiation
• National parties may attempt to mandate members
• Supranational - integration cleavage cross-cuts the groups
• Government - opposition cleavage cross-cuts the groups
• May be unable to handle distributive issues

EP GROUPS

Political Characteristics 1

• Transnational (but some more so than others)
• Largely organised on a left-right basis
• Groups correspond to the classic party families of WEU
• Only loosely hierachical
• Consensus has to be formed between national delegations

EP GROUPS

Political Characteristics 2

• Evidence suggests relatively high level of cohesion
• EPP/PES duopoly forms core of EP party system
• Not yet completely stabilised party system
• But show evidence of parties adapting to EU political system

GROUPS IN EP

Explanations for cohesion

• Groups correspond to pre-existing political families
• Effectiveness of concensus-building methods in EP
• Importance to national parties of 'winning' EP votes
• MEPs united by desire to promote role of EP
• Undemanding political environment: no government-opposition relations; no close link to electoral performance

CONSTRAINTS

On development of parties at European level

• States and 'national interests' dominate EU political sysytem
• Embedded power of national parties: unwilling to let Euro-parties develop?
• Party Politics a 'nation bound' activity?
• EU based on concensus politics, not competition needed for party politics