Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 10/2014

Linking Domestic and European Politics: Finnish MEPs and the Votes that Shaped the 7th European Parliament

Tuomas Iso-Markku

September 2014

Finnish Institute for International Affairs

Abstract

The members of the European Parliament act in a challenging intermediary position between domestic and European politics. The MEPs represent national parties and are elected nationally. However, in the European Parliament, MEPs mostly work within transnational party groups, which form the main channel through which MEPs can influence European decision-making. The views of the MEPs’ national parties and their European party groups do not always overlap, forcing the MEPs to choose between the two.