The idea of writing a book on the European Parliament was suggested 35 years ago by Francis Jacobs to John Harper, then working at the British publisher Longmans. He agreed; but what Francis did not know was that John only succeeded in getting the proposal approved by the Longman acquisitions committee by promising that he would also produce a volume on the much higher profile Commission!
John kept both promises but, contrary to expectations, it was the book on the Parliament that made the running and would go on to have a far longer history. First published in 1990, it is now in its tenth version, having been revised and updated in 1992, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007. 2011, 2016 and now in 2024.
Why has it been so successful? The explanation lies in good measure in the history of the Parliament itself. The Parliament was certainly perceived as the weakest of the main EU institutions in 1990 but there was already growing interest in its relatively unfamiliar workings, and this only grew as 16 new Member States joined the EU and as the Parliament gained more and more real powers. Successive editions of the book helped to explain this unfamiliar institution as well as the evolution in its powers (and sometimes speculated on the possibility of new EP powers that subsequently actually came to pass!).
MEPs, including successive Presidents, and the staff of the EP were very supportive of the co-authors from the start; and both prospective new EP and other EU staff as well as those following and lobbying the EP found the book to be very helpful.
Another great advantage for the EP book was that it was not produced by multiple authors writing chapters in isolation from each other but by a small group of close colleagues and friends. Francis was joined by Richard Corbett and then Mike Shackleton, and the three of them then worked together on every one of the first eight editions. Francis and Richard have continued to be co-authors for the 9th and 10th editions, but have now also been joined by Darren Neville, and with Pavel Cernoch helping with the 10th edition. Between them, they have over time seen the Parliament from a number of different vantage points: as secretariat staff, Political Group staff, and MEP; from inside the Parliament and from outside; dealing with legislation, budget and supervisory powers; working on current affairs and on future perspectives; communicating the Parliament to the public, to academics and to media. Their sense of camaraderie is shown in the acknowledgements in the first edition, with its word of thanks to the “hospital(!!!) staff at the café-restaurant ‘La Vignette’ in Strasbourg, at which many of the final editing session s took place, with papers and notes strewn among the delicious food and bottles of Pinot Noir”.
Ten editions is an exceptional number for a book on a European Union subject. What has remained the same over time, and what has changed? John Harper has remained the editor for all 10 editions, with the last seven all produced by John Harper Publishing. Unsurprisingly the book is much longer than it was, but it has become absolutely as well as in price per page much cheaper, with the first edition priced at £29 and the tenth at £25! (30 euros). The market has also changed considerably, with demand, for example, from the UK having declined considerably (even before Brexit) and that from countries such as those in Central and Eastern Europe having risen sharply. The book is still published in the UK but is now distributed from the Netherlands. The paperback edition is now complemented by an e-book edition, which we expect to update to take account of the 2024 elections and their aftermath within the Parliament.
There has also been considerable continuity as regards the structure of the book. Almost all the chapters from the first edition are still there, but three new chapters have been added (interparliamentary delegations, relations with national parliaments and appointment and dismissal, an area where the EP’s role has grown significantly) and the title of the chapter on the EP’s forum role has been modified to reflect the importance of its engagement with citizens.
One chapter from the first edition that is no longer there was its final chapter on “perspectives for the future”. The first edition preceded the Maastricht Treaty and many of the unfulfilled EP demands that it described have since been met, notably the introduction of both legislative and budgetary co-decision, a proper role in scrutiny of EU implementing decisions (‘comitology’), the right for the EP to take annulment proceedings before the Court of Justice, the appointment of the President of the Commission, and an EP formal vote on the Commission as a whole, as well as an EP role in the vetting of other top EU appointments. Certain other EP demands have still not been met, such as a co-decision role on EU revenue, the right of legislative initiative and the vetting of appointments to the European Court of Justice.
Whatever the success of the authors’ predictions, the ten editions of this book have certainly constituted an invaluable audit of the growing role of the European Parliament and of the use that it has made of these new powers. Let’s see what happens in the future!
