( and the same applies to new EU competences on citizenship , consumer protection , education and culture ).
Taking these episodes together , their cumulative results are striking . In what is historically a short period of time , the European Parliament has come a long way . It sought and eventually obtained a power of codecision with the Council on legislation , so that the EU now has a bicameral legislature . It has acquired a central role in the appointment of the Commission and its President , to complement the right of censure that it had from the beginning . Its approval is needed for international agreements to be ratified by the Union . It now has an effective right of scrutiny and recall over delegated legislation . In short , the rise of Parliament is one of the most significant features of the five successive treaty revisions that took place between 1987 and 2009 , and of the smaller adjustments and practices that developed during and since that time .
Having an active and assertive elected parliament with significant powers makes the EU radically different from a traditional intergovernmental organisation . To appreciate this , we need only imagine what the EU would be like without Parliament ; it would be a system dominated by bureaucrats and diplomats , loosely supervised by ministers flying periodically into Brussels . Instead , the EU system is made more open , transparent and democratic than it would otherwise be , through the existence of a body of full-time representatives at the heart of EU decision-making , asking questions , knocking on doors , shining a spotlight into dark corners , in dialogue with voters back home , and whose approval is necessary for key decisions . MEPs are drawn from governing parties and opposition parties and represent not just capital cities but the regions in their full diversity . In short , Parliament brings pluralism into play and brings far more scrutiny to EU legislation .
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