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PALGRAVE STUDIES IN EUROPEAN UNION POLITICS SERIES EDITORS: MICHELLE EGAN · WILLIAM E. PATERSON · KOLJA RAUBE The EU Political System After the 2019 European Elections Edited by Olivier Costa · Steven Van Hecke Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics Series Editors Michelle Egan, American University, Washington, USA William E. Paterson, Aston University, Birmingham, UK Kolja Raube, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Following on the sustained success of the acclaimed European Union Series, which essentially publishes research-based textbooks, Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics publishes cutting edge research-driven monographs. The remit of the series is broadly defined, both in terms of subject and academic discipline. All topics of significance concerning the nature and operation of the European Union potentially fall within the scope of the series. The series is multidisciplinary to reflect the growing importance of the EU as a political, economic and social phenomenon. To submit a proposal, please contact Senior Editor Ambra Finotello ambra. fi[email protected]. This series is indexed by Scopus. Editorial Board Laurie Buonanno (SUNY Buffalo State, USA) Kenneth Dyson (Cardiff University, UK) Brigid Laffan (European University Institute, Italy) Claudio Radaelli (University College London, UK) Mark Rhinard (Stockholm University, Sweden) Ariadna Ripoll Servent (University of Bamberg, Germany) Frank Schimmelfennig (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) Claudia Sternberg (University College London, UK) Nathalie Tocci (Istituto Affari Internazionali, Italy) · Olivier Costa Steven Van Hecke Editors The EU Political System After the 2019 European Elections Editors Olivier Costa Steven Van Hecke CEVIPOF-Sciences Po Public Governance Institute CNRS KU Leuven Paris, France Leuven, Belgium ISSN 2662-5873 ISSN 2662-5881 (electronic) Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics ISBN 978-3-031-12337-5 ISBN 978-3-031-12338-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12338-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface This edited volume is the result of a collaboration between the Depart- ment of European political and governance studies of the College of Europe and KU Leuven, specifically political scientists affiliated to LINES (Leuven International and European Studies) and the KU Leuven Public Governance Institute. It benefited from the financial support of the College of Europe. This book features the work of 34 of the best specialists from two leading academic institutes in EU affairs. The first versions of these chapters were presented and discussed by the authors—who have acted as peers—during an online workshop in January 2020. Subsequent versions of the chapters were reviewed by the editors. As editors, we would like to thank our colleagues for their contribu- tion to this edited volume and their collaboration during the review and editing process. A special word of thanks goes to Fredrik Mesdag for his assistance in all the stages of this publication. Thanks also to Katya Long for helping with the editing process as well as to Toine Paulissen for his helping hand when the manuscript was almost but not yet ready. We wish to thank Palgrave for their trust and patience and especially Ambra Finotello and Shreenidhi Natarajan for helping us finally turn this project into a book. v vi PREFACE We do hope all these efforts will be appreciated by our readers and rewarded by a large reading audience. Paris, France Olivier Costa Leuven, Belgium Steven Van Hecke Contents 1 Introduction—Assessing the EU’s Double Challenge 1 Olivier Costa and Steven Van Hecke Part I Politics 2 EU Citizen Participation ‘in the Union’s Democratic Life’: A Policy and Legal Analysis 23 Alberto Alemanno 3 Higher Turnout at the Expense of Representativeness? The 2019 European Elections Against the Backdrop of a Socio-Economically Biased Voter Turnout 45 Michael Kaeding and Stefan Haußner 4 Unpacking Legislative Turnover in the 2019 European Parliament Elections 63 Isabelle De Coninck 5 The Life and Death of theS pitzenkandidaten : What Role is Left for European Political Parties? 83 Steven Van Hecke, Wouter Wolfs, and Toine Paulissen 6 The Political Regime of the EU Through the Prism of the Confirmation of the von der Leyen Commission by the European Parliament 101 Olivier Costa vii viii CONTENTS 7 Dealing with Fragmentation: The New Political Equilibrium and Coalition Dynamics in the European Parliament During the 9th Legislature 121 Nathalie Brack, Olivier Costa, and Awenig Marié Part II Institutions 8 ‘They Are No Different, They Are Much the Same…?’ Post-2019 Inter-Institutional Dynamics in the European Union 151 Martin Westlake 9 The von der Leyen Commission: An Early Assessment 169 Hussein Kassim 10 A “Geopolitical Commission”: Reaching a Point of Inflexion? 195 Dimitri Lorenzani and Manuel Szapiro 11 Balancing the Unbalanced? An Ongoing Rivalry Between European Parliament and European Council 215 Andrea Sabatini and Wolfgang Wessels 12 The European Parliament’s Practice in Scrutinizing the Commission’s Delegated Acts Before and After the 2019 EP Elections 239 Sabina Lange and Michael Kaeding 13 The Empowerment of the General Secretariat of the Council: A Growing Challenge for Rotating Presidencies? 261 Oriane Gilloz 14 The European Parliament Under COVID-19: Institutional Adaptation in Times of Pandemics 285 Ariadna Ripoll Servent and Alfredo De Feo Part III Policies 15 Fighting Fires from Crisis to Crisis: The Evolution of Central Banking in Europe 309 Michele Chang, Gabriel Glöckler, and Laura Pierret CONTENTS ix 16 The EU Budget and Recovery Plan: A Chance for EU Ambition? 335 Anne Vitrey and Frederik Mesdag 17 Riding the Green Wave? Green Electoral Success and the European Green Deal 361 Katja Biedenkopf, Ellen Vanderschueren, and Franziska Petri 18 How Covid-19 Hit Brussels and Beyond: The EU’s Crisis Management Tested by a Pandemic 381 Steven Van Hecke, Toine Paulissen, and Britt Vande Walle 19 The Evolution of Enhanced Cooperation in the EU: From EnCo to PeSCo (2009–2019) 401 Antonio Missiroli and Luigi Lonardo 20 The End of Enlargement? The EU’s Struggle with the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership Countries 433 Teona Lavrelashvili and Steven Van Hecke 21 From the Gulf of Aden to the Mediterranean Sea: The Institutionalisation of EU-NATO Maritime Relations 455 Lorenzo Giuglietti 22 The EU’s Embrace of Geopolitics: Insights from the EU-China Relationship 479 Steven Langendonk and Edith Drieskens Part IV Conclusion 23 Conclusion: The European Union Between Resistance, Resilience, and Reinvention 503 Olivier Costa Index 517