Procedures vs. the “Masters of the Treaties”: the parliamentary role in the Treaty revision process

Within the European integration process, Treaty amendments present a strong intergovernmental connotation, usually familiar to international law and to a tradition which, in the sensitive field of foreign policy, mainly empowers representatives of the Governments of the Member State. The pivotal role of Intergovernmental Conferences, entitled to determine the amendments to be made to the Treaties, strengthened national executives vis à vis national Parliaments, and, at the same time, excluded the European Parliament from the most significant steps of the revision process. Only the experience of the Convention on the future of Europe, drafting the 2004 Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, paved the way for the involvement of both national and European Parliaments. The first part of this chapter will explore the legal and political implication of such “parliamentarization” of the Treaty amendment process, as also provided by the novel formulation of Article 48 TEU. The second part of the chapter will focus on the Italian parliament, exploring both the function of scrutiny and political direction of the Government in European Affairs (in case of Treaty amendments occurred outside the Convention method), and the functions and influence of Italian Parliament Representatives within the Convention on the future of Europe.