The European Parliament 2004–09 – A Parliament for the People of the New EU Polity?

Since the first Euro-elections, much attention has been paid to the level of turnout. In the past, a high turnout was deemed essential to justify the European Parliament’s claims and quest for an accretion of its originally negligible legislative powers. The mere fact of its direct election was seen as lending credence to its claim to being the only directly legitimated institution, and was key to its claims as to the legitimacy of its attempts to acquire genuine legislative authority. Its legislative and control functions and powers were boosted over the years, both via minimalist small steps that exploited its own Rules of Procedure to give expression to traditional democratic values and practices in respect of parliamentary control over the executive, and via the maximalist strategy of treaty reform and constitution-building associated with Altiero Spinelli.