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This isn't a big deal. The European parliament can only suggest laws to the comission, it has no real power to enact them. Unfortunately the US media doesn't re

This isn't a big deal. The European parliament can only suggest laws to the comission, it has no real power to enact them. Unfortunately the US media doesn't report this part of it and often sees these votes as legally binding (another example was the recentish vote on USB-C charging). I think the best was to explain the EU parliament to US readers is that the parliament only has veto control, much like the US president (if anything, less, since the president can issue executive orders, which the EP can't). It's basically inverted.

toyg 6y ago
You are reading the letter of the treaties but not their application. The EU Parliament successfully leverages its powers in all sorts of ways. Simply stated: Council, Commission and Parliament have to work together, or nothing moves. Each element can block the others. This means that each element has an incentive to actually work with the others and give them what they want, to have any hope of "bringing home" something of what it wants. If MEPs want something badly enough, they will get it, because otherwise they'll start sabotaging stuff Council (i.e. national governments) and Commission (the bureaucratic machine) care about, by wielding their veto powers and their electoral mandate. Votes like this might not have an effect today, but they are part of a conversation that The Powers That Be (the Council) have to participate in. It states a political will that has to be somehow accomodated into the agenda, and it grants political cover for the Commission to put forward actual directives that the Council are not particularly interested in. It's basically like getting second base.
- martinald 6y ago
  I understand and completely agree with what you are saying. All I was meaning was that many publicatons (especially N American), write stories about EP votes as if they were closer to 'national' votes. You make my point exactly by saying 'If MEPs want something badly enough'. Yes, they will get their way if it is of "important" European interest, but I sincrely doubt that the EP will bring the comission to a standstill over USB C charging for phones or right of repairability. My point really was these stories often get published without caveating they are basically non binding votes with no real meaning.
snicksnak 6y ago
And even if the EU would introduce a right to repair directive, it would be kicked back to the individual countries who then would have to come up with their country specific law on how to achieve this goal. If no law was implemented within a timeframe, there will be sanctions, eventually, or not, depends.
TazeTSchnitzel 6y ago
This isn't quite true. While only the Commission can draft laws, both Parliament and the Council can amend them, and (in the general case) both must approve a proposed regulation or directive for it to become law.
MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
The European parliament has always seemed like to me what the US's Articles of Confederation was. There was no centralized authority and states could defy policies as they saw fit.

toyg 6y ago

You are reading the letter of the treaties but not their application. The EU Parliament successfully leverages its powers in all sorts of ways. Simply stated: Council, Commission and Parliament have to work together, or nothing moves. Each element can block the others. This means that each element has an incentive to actually work with the others and give them what they want, to have any hope of "bringing home" something of what it wants. If MEPs want something badly enough, they will get it, because otherwise they'll start sabotaging stuff Council (i.e. national governments) and Commission (the bureaucratic machine) care about, by wielding their veto powers and their electoral mandate. Votes like this might not have an effect today, but they are part of a conversation that The Powers That Be (the Council) have to participate in. It states a political will that has to be somehow accomodated into the agenda, and it grants political cover for the Commission to put forward actual directives that the Council are not particularly interested in. It's basically like getting second base.

martinald 6y ago
I understand and completely agree with what you are saying. All I was meaning was that many publicatons (especially N American), write stories about EP votes as if they were closer to 'national' votes. You make my point exactly by saying 'If MEPs want something badly enough'. Yes, they will get their way if it is of "important" European interest, but I sincrely doubt that the EP will bring the comission to a standstill over USB C charging for phones or right of repairability. My point really was these stories often get published without caveating they are basically non binding votes with no real meaning.

snicksnak 6y ago

And even if the EU would introduce a right to repair directive, it would be kicked back to the individual countries who then would have to come up with their country specific law on how to achieve this goal. If no law was implemented within a timeframe, there will be sanctions, eventually, or not, depends.

TazeTSchnitzel 6y ago

This isn't quite true. While only the Commission can draft laws, both Parliament and the Council can amend them, and (in the general case) both must approve a proposed regulation or directive for it to become law.

MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago

The European parliament has always seemed like to me what the US's Articles of Confederation was. There was no centralized authority and states could defy policies as they saw fit.