More European power for the Bundestag

The German parliament must play a role in decisions on European policy: this is substance of the message which the German Constitutional Court has addressed to the government in Berlin on three separate occasions over the last three years. On 18 June, judges in the court in Karslruhe ruled on an action filed by the Green party concerning the failure to effectively inform MPs about negotiations on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). From now on, notes Der Spiegel,

… the government will have to inform parliament as early as possible about international negotiations that are in progress, like those that are currently underway on the European Stability Mechanism, and make certain that parliament plays a role in those negotiations. The reasoning behind the ruling is that more a extensive involvement of the parliament in decision making on European treaties will ensure a balanced approach to the transfer of competencies [both political and legal] to the EU.

The Karlsruhe court already expressed this position on the occasion of the ratification of the Lisbon treaty in 2009, and once again last September, during the debate on plans for European bailouts.