EU Parliament flexes muscles despite sceptics’ rise

Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform, sees Parliament as a power-hungry, spendthrift cheerleader for a federal Europe, which he argues has too much influence over the Commission, driving unnecessary regulation.

In the pamphlet "How to build a modern EU", published last year, Grant advocated giving national parliaments more say in EU governance, including the power for half of them to veto current or proposed EU laws they deem to infringe national sovereignty. He also argues that a forum of national parliaments, not the European Parliament, should supervise eurozone governance.