Acceso usuarios
Madrid, España
This article examines postwar supranational parliamentarism byfocusing on the political role of the Consultative Assembly of theCouncil of Europe. While the historical significance of theAssembly has been re-investigated, less attention has been givento the political role of the parliamentary body of the Council inthe framework of political theorizing of postwar parliamentarism.Neither has the parliamentary role of the Assembly been muchdiscussed in studies about European integration. It is oftenargued that as the Consultative Assembly was given merely adeliberative role, without legislative or executive powers, it bearsless political significance. Contrary to this view, our article shows,how after the founding of the Council of Europe in 1948, thelimited powers of the Assembly were renegotiated, and therepresentatives tried to challenge the‘consultative’role of thebody particularly in the framework of the drafting of the so-called‘European political authority’in 1949–51. By analyzing theminutes of plenary sessions and committee reports, we turn ourattention to the views and arguments presented bycontemporaries and argue that there was a missed opportunityfor the Assembly to become supranational that could havepotentially influenced the course of the European integration
