1994 and 1999
The transformative years
Michael Shackleton
Emeritus Professor of European Institutions , Maastricht University
Alfredo De Feo
Scientific Director at the European College of Parma and Research Fellow at the Historical Archives of the European Union
The fourth and fifth European Parliament elections , in 1994 and 1999 respectively , are important , less for what happened at the ballot box and much more for what happened in the intervening years . This was perhaps the period that saw the most dramatic changes hitherto in the character of the European Union and in the role of the European Parliament . It was during these years that Parliament was able to make the first full use of the new legislative powers that it had acquired under the Maastricht Treaty , permanently altering Parliament ’ s relationship with the Council of Ministers . It was the period when the character of Parliament ’ s stance towards the Commission also changed radically , with the introduction of hearings for new Commissioners as well as the forced resignation of the Santer Commission . And it was a time of major change in the character of the European Union itself : the Member States were irreversibly committed to the creation of a single currency , three new countries ( Austria , Finland and Sweden )
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