The European Parliament's oversight powers: Tools to scrutinise the European Commission

STUDY The European Parliament's oversight powers: Tools to scrutinise the European Commission Study EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Authors: Hannah Ahmad Madatali, Katharina Eisele, Talander Jansen and Susanna Tenhunen with Helene Prinz Ex-Post Evaluation Unit PE 765.768 – June 2025 EN The European Parliament's oversight powers: Tools to scrutinise the European Commission The European Parliament is vested with powers of democratic oversight and political scrutiny vis-à-vis the European Commission. These powers of Parliament enhance the democratic legitimacy of the EU as a whole, and help increase the transparency and accountability of the Commission as the EU's executive body. This study examines Parliament's oversight and scrutiny powers over the Commission. It focuses mainly, but not exclusively, on the powers that are enshrined in specific provisions of the EU Treaties. This includes Parliament's role in the Commission's investiture, in motions of censure, parliamentary questions, committees of inquiry and special committees, and in the Commission's obligations to report, consult and inform. It also looks into Parliament's scrutiny over budgetary issues, of delegated acts, in the context of the EU legislative procedure and agenda-setting, of legal proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union, and of the EU's external relations. The study builds on a previous EPRS...