Indirect Inclusion of National Parliaments in the European Lawmaking Process: Croatian Parliament Priorities in European Affairs

Sa？etak The Treaty of Lisbon vested the national parliaments of EU Member States with the possibility of direct participation in the European legislative process, thus attempting to overcome the Union’s democratic deficit. Earlier national parliaments only disposed with the possibility of indirect involvement in the EU affairs, through the scrutiny of governmental actions in the EU institutions. An option of both direct and indirect participation faces national parliaments with the choice of prioritized mode of involvement into the EU decision-making process. Research indicates that national parliaments with strong systems of governmental scrutiny mostly focus on indirect involvement. Croatian Parliament is the national parliament of a country that had become an EU Member State after entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which makes it an appropriate case for analysis of the effects of the Lisbon Treaty on national EU affairs management system. An analysis of formal rules concerning European affairs shows that a mandating system of parliamentary scrutiny is in place, indicating that indirect involvement is the priority of the Croatian Parliament. This shows that, at least in the Croatian case, the Lisbon Treaty does not represent a sufficient enticement for direct participation of national parliaments in the European legislative process