1. Democratic Lawmaking in the EU: Promises and Pitfalls of the Ordinary Legislative Procedure (OLP)
Christilla Roederer-Rynning
University of Southern Denmark,

2. Context A distinguishing feature of EU as political union
At birth, EU as a messy polity years later: To what extent has EU become an orderly polity? What can we learn from OLP?
Outline: 1) Making of OLP: democratic innovation?; 2) OLP in practice: democratic achievement?

3. I. Democratic innovation in Lisbon?
a) How innovative is Lisbon?
OLP as a procedure: 1) Qualified majority voting in Council ; 2) EP as co-legislator
Innovation: New policy areas
OLP as a rationalizing device: 1) ’Ordinary’ = as default procedure; ’normal’; 2) ’Special’ = as exceptional; ’abnormal; ’has to be rationalized’
=> Innovation: Horizontal approach/tidying up

4. I. Democratic innovation in Lisbon?
b) How ’democratic’ is this innovation?
Policy-seeking perspective: Policy calculations—not democratic ideals (utility-maximizing member-states)
Legitimacy – seeking perspective: The democratic genie out of the bottle (member-states in community of values)
Inter-institutional bargaining perspective: Small steps’ bargaining--in name of democracy? (EP in everyday interactions)

5. I. Democratic innovation in Lisbon?
c) So what is OLP a case of?
General sequence of EP empowerment:
From values to reflexes (Rittberger 2012): QMV-OLP-Consent
Socialization + EP bargaining (Héritier 2015)
Individual Lisbon areas:
Budget (Benedetto and Høyland 2007)—role of IGC 2004
Agriculture (Roederer-Rynning and Schimmelfennig 2013 and
Trade (Rosén 2016) – European Convention

6. II. Democratic achievements post-Lisbon?
a) In practice, OLP = ’trilogues’
Trilogues as negotiation practice whereby 3 policy- making institutions reach agreement on EU law
Controversial: efficient but undemocratic?
EU lawmaking as single reading process: 87% today
Private not public: accountability?
Informal not formal: ad hoc / expediency v. Rule- based?
Alternatives for single market legislation?

7. II. Democratic achievements post-Lisbon?
b) Institutionalization of trilogues (Roederer-Rynning & Greenwood 2015/6)
Through practice:
across 3 institutions: ’culture of trilogues’ (layers of negotiation—ritualized);
within EP: high-end user committees as driving-force of institutionalization (ECON; ENVI; TRAN)
Through rules: EP Reforms of 2012 and 2016:
committee / plenary mandate;
plurilateralization of team;
Monitoring in committee
Evolutionary process: Incremental assessment within framework of ’normal’ parliament + pace of legislation

8. II.Democratic achievements post-Lisbon?
In ’hard’ cases of OLP (2013 agricultural reform):
Growing politicization:
at intermediary level: growing Civil Society Organization (CSO) mobilization (rural; non-rural)--at multiple levels; of EP parties?
and citizen level?
Under shadow of member-states:
European Council as makeshift legislator?
Long-term budget of EU (MFF) as ’issue’ detail policy provisions and budget ceilings…

9. II.Democratic achievements post-Lisbon?
SO bottom line = Lisbon gains lost in everyday process? GAINS institutional sphere: trilogue rules emerge; intermediary level: civil society engagement; ’LOSSES’ institutional sphere: selective ’exits’ from OLP intermediary level: parties in search of purpose! HYP Not just agri exceptionalism but redistributive exceptionalism? (agri; econ; libe)

10. Conclusion
Lisbon’s democratic aspirations are real even though probably are unintended consequence of deepening of integration
Post-Lisbon modus vivendi: democratization of OLP + intergovernmental exits in redistributive issues
Not just a messy polity. Political order emerging with democracy / democratization on agenda.
With critics from EU democrats and populists, more OLP reform on agenda…but institutions alone cannot bring democracy!

11. Issues ahead…
Redistributive policies with mixed logic of OLP / intergovernmentalism = How accountable? How tidy? What role for parliaments?
Eurozone – non Eurozone differentiation = Return of two-speed Europe? What role for the EP? Parliaments?
Populism and OLP: OLP central in single market areas!