The Institutional Integration of an Expanded EU or How ‘New’ European Actors Fit into ‘Old’ European Institutions.

This paper investigates the impact of the influx of new EU-level political actors from the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) on the internal structure and functioning of European Union (EU) institutions (particularly the European Parliament (EP)). The focus includes an examination of existing norms and organizational structures within the EP and a comparison to those existing within the CEEC legislatures. The research focuses in particular on several key aspects of internal legislative behavior and structure including: party discipline structures (whips, roll call voting etc), party and coalition voting cohesion, internal hierarchy structures, committee influence, the role of ideology and inter-institutional relationships. The goal of the research is to determine the similarities and differences between the political institutions of the accession countries and those already existing in the EU that may lead to conflict, change or dysfunction as large numbers of CEEC representatives join their ranks. This research incorporates key issues related to enlargement, including the institutional problems it may cause, especially within the EP as the home of party politics in the EU. In addition, however the research also addresses some aspects of the Europeanization literature as it suggests that the causal arrow may in fact flow from the national level to the European level and not only the other way around. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]