Europe’s parliament: Reform or perish?

National MPs feel less and less in control of decisions taken in Europe. Yet they are expected to defend these decisions with the same vigour as the national laws they vote for themselves. In this CER Essay, Denis MacShane argues that this gap is now a major part of the growing deficit in democratic confidence in Europe. MEPs need to be in tune with the democratically elected governments of the countries from which they come, or the legitimacy of EU institutions will increasingly be called into question. Popular confidence in the EU will erode unless national parliaments are treated as partners rather than afterthoughts.