2004 and 2009 . If there had been votes in 1994 , it could have been fatal for the chances of the prospective Danish Commissioner , Ritt Bjerregaard , who had suggested that Parliament was not really a proper parliament . As Hänsch points out , he had been in no way inclined to give her the floor in the plenary to explain her position .
Introducing these changes in how the Commission was appointed had a broader effect in changing relations between Parliament and the Commission . It led to a new code of conduct , signed in 1995 , where Parliament was able to enhance its role of co-legislator , beyond the provisions of the Treaties . The Commission committed to forwarding to Parliament all its proposals and other documents which it had forwarded to the Council , and to inform Parliament before making them public . Similarly , the Commission undertook to contact Parliament before choosing the legal basis for its proposals . Even more importantly , the Commission committed to withdrawing legislative proposals that were rejected by Parliament . This 1995 code of conduct was part of Parliament ’ s strategy to be on the same footing as the Council , a strategy that was further developed in the context of the codecision procedure .
Codecision with the Council
It is not an exaggeration to say that the fourth term of Parliament constituted a pivotal moment in the democratisation of the European legislative process . The introduction of codecision , albeit initially limited to a number of subjects , marked a significant shift , paving the way for a more influential role for the European Parliament in shaping European legislation 4 .
The entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty ( 1993 ) and the
4 . See also A . De Feo and M . Shackleton ( eds .), Shaping parliamentary democracy , collected memories from the European Parliament , Palgrave , London , 2019 .
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