Parlament az európai Unióban és Magyarországon
The Hungarian Parliament will be affected by the processes of European integration. What is more. the preparation for this process has already begun. Thus, first a separate section examines what steps have been taken by the Hungarian Parliament so far to prepare for the integration process. The experiences of the countries that have recently entered the Union and the examples of the potential new entrants from East Central Europe are used as a basis of comparison.
Next the paper seeks to examine in more detail the different aspects and possible consequences of integration in the following areas: a) functional changes that will possibly take place in the Hungarian Parliament; b) personnel consequences, particularly in the context of the development of a Euro-political class; c) professionalisation in terms of efficiency and working style in the Hungarian Parliament; and d) policy consequences, including the decision-making environment that the Hungarian Parliament (similarly to other national parliaments) will have to face before and during the integration process. The section dealing with the functional dimension cannot avoid analysing the issue of the ‘democratic deficit’ with the role of the national parliaments in focus. The development and characteristics ot the Euro-political class might be instructive for the present Hungarian political elites (particularly the parliamentary and party elites) and leading political institutions as well. The professionalisation trends in the European Parliament draw attention to the tasks of our national Parliament. Finally, the adaptation to the decision-making processes is essential so that Hungary may gain from integration.
The paper concludes that although in the multi-actor environment of the EU the supranational institutions seem to be the leading force, national institutions algo have an impact on the evolving European scene. Thos, strategically the capacities of the Hungarian Parliament should develop to achieve this aim.