Europaparlamentarikerna och partigruppslojaliteten. En studie av europeiseringens betydelse för europaparlamentarikernas röstningsbeteende.

Abstract

This bachelor thesis aims to examine if members of the European Parliament which come from more europeanized countries are more likely to be loyal to their party group than their fellow parliamentarians which come from less europeanized countries. The research method used in the study is a statistical analysis of the europeanization degree of the European Union member states and how it affects the voting behaviour of their parliamentarians. The analysis is also made under the influence of a control variable. It is not unlikely to imagine that parliamentarians representing less europeanized voters are more likely to have an opinion that differs from the majority of their party group based on the theory of representative democracy. If that is the case, they might also be more willing to vote against the party group line than parliamentarians which have a more europeanized view on his or her opinions. The results of the analysis show that europeanization does affect the party group loyalty in a positive direction, but it is only a weak connection that can not explain the voting behaviour of the members of the European Parliament on its own.