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The Influence of Institutional Constraints

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Abstract

The chapter addresses the main factors that constrain the voting behavior of ministers and MEPs within their respective institution, namely, the transnational groups in the EP and the “culture of consensus” in the Council. Starting with the European Parliament (EP), the institutional environment and the role that the transnational EP groups play therein are sketched. Both qualitative and quantitative data confirm that the transnational groups are extremely important in shaping the voting behavior within the EP. In the Council, the so-called "culture of consensus" strongly affects the behavior of ministers, leading them to vote in favor of proposals even in cases where they are opposed. MEPs and ministers only vote against these institutional constraints if the issue voted on is of high salience for them.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Monika Mühlböck

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  1. Monika Mühlböck
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Mühlböck, M. (2017). The Influence of Institutional Constraints. In: Voting Unity of National Parties in Bicameral EU Decision-Making. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39465-7_4

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