The European Parliament and Agency Control in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

Despite aptly capturing the EU as a multi-principal model, the principal–agent literature has neglected the question of under what conditions a particular institution may become a principal.

This article proposes a research framework that defines a principal not only through its involvement in the legal procedure establishing the agent, but also through its impact on the day-to-day work and institutional development of this agent. Using the case of the European Parliament and agency control in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, it is argued that the Parliament has managed partially to compensate in the post-delegation phase for constrained ex ante legal involvement. The key conditions allowing the Parliament to enter the circle of principals have been altered default conditions through the introduction of co-decision in Justice and Home Affairs policy, and the strategic behaviour of the agent in the principals' competition for leadership and control.