UK Parliamentary Scrutiny of the EU Political and Legal Space after Brexit

‘Taking back control’ was a major theme in the 2016 UK Referendum on European Union (EU) membership and in the UK’s approach to the Brexit negotiations. Supporters of Brexit identified an end to ever closer integration, or Europeanisation, and restoration of parliamentar control over repatriated competences as a key benefit of leaving the EU. Europeanisation utilises a governance framework through which supra-national political institutions legislate and national courts provide effective judicial enforcement. Institutionally, Europeanisation has transferred legislative powers to the Council of the EU and European Parliament at the expense of national institutions. This caused what the literature defined as a ‘deparliamentarisation’ due to absence of national parliamentary participation in EU decision-making, and limited domestic accountability of executives (O’Brennan and Raunio, 2007).