[baryphonic]

I find this bizarre as well. The EU Parliament has no initiative, possessing only the power to approve or veto legislation proposed by the Commission. And then when they occasionally exercise their veto power, the Commission can just resubmit substantially the same legislation as before, as is happening here.

This also means the Parliament has no independent power to repeal previous law that it might have regretted passing. It must again wait for the Commission to propose repeal. I can count how many times an unelected administrative bureaucracy has proposed removing its own power on zero hands.

The whole thing strikes me as a sham democracy.

[Bluestein]

It is (a sham).-

Then again, I am, personally, split: The standards, and process, to become a part of this technocratic body that is the EU are very high, and they will (ostensibly) select amongst the best candidates ...

... might this "technocracy" be an option in today's age of political mediocrity and populism?

[andrepd]

>The standards, and process, to become a part of this technocratic body that is the EU are very high

[citation needed] :) As far as I see it's just opaque dealings between the individual member-states' governments.