Abstract

This contribution questions the evolution of the European legislature. Is the European legislature - as it was established after the Maastricht Treaty - developing into a full fledged legislator comparable to state legislators. In order to answer this question the concept of 'legislature' is studied from different angles. Then the relation between the European legislature - as it emerges from the Constitutional Treaty and the subsequent Lisbon Treaty of 2007 - and the other European institutions is analysed and assessed. The contribution concludes that the European legislature is maturing and developing, sometimes even outside the confines of the Treaties strictu senso.