Legislative Power
- Parliament in Brussels (Photo: EP)
The power to decide and amend the law for a country or a community.
The Council of Ministers and the Commission share legislative power within the EU. The European Parliament has growing influence through a right to propose amendments to and veto laws that are decided upon through the, so-called, co-decision procedure.
The EU Court's special form of interpretation - legal activism - also gives this institution de facto legislative power.
The EU has no clear distinction between legislative, executive and judicial powers, as proposed by the French enlightenment thinker, Montesqieu.
