The Early Warning System (EWS): a faulty playground on which to trigger the 'solidarity card'

Abstract

The Treaty of Lisbon recognized national parliaments (NPs) as partners of the supranational institutions in legislative procedures, among other EU policy processes. The most innovative mechanism to involve NPs in EU law-making since 2010 is the Early Warning System (EWS). This study addresses the dynamics of the EWS comprehensively. In short, parliamentary administration is crucial to make the EWS practicable, and this subsidiarity mechanism appears to be a faulty playground for redistributive initiatives. Considering the improvements in the representative dimension of the EU since the 2014 election, a question emerges: Does it pay to play the EWS game?