As a member of the European Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee, I’ve been observing the commissioner hearings to see how the procedure can be improved in the future. The process, and my report, is yet to be finalised — but I have written some of my initial thoughts in an article for the Parliament Magazine:
When it comes to representative democracy, many national parliaments could learn from this example when ministers are appointed, by also putting them through a public grilling by the relevant parliamentary committee before they take office. I’m not holding my breath, but on this our venerable UK houses of parliament still have one or two things to learn from their younger sibling across the channel.
