The adaptation of the Baltic parliaments to the EU multilevel governance: The case of Lithuania

While there is no lack of academic literature on national parliaments and European integration, empirical studies on the impact of the European Union on domestic legislatures are rare. This article is a case study about the adaptation of the Baltic parliaments to the EU multilevel governance. In the 1990s, the Baltic States wishing to join the EU, their parliaments had to face the simultaneous challenges of democratisation, Europeanisation and modernisation. During the pre-Accession period they were involved in the EU matters through the transposition of the EU law and the monitoring of the Accession negotiations. Inter-parliamentary contacts with their European counterparts were developed. This facilitated the learning of “good practices” and rules established in the EU Member States parliaments. Just after the EU Accession, the legal frameworks of the Baltic Parliaments were reinforced according to the Scandinavian model of parliamentary scrutiny system on EU affairs. Legally speaking today the Baltic parliaments are more powerful actors, but some limits to their real effectiveness still exist.