National MPs speak for citizens in the other EU countries, too - more in Germany, less in the UK

It seems straightforward to assume that national members of parliament (MPs) represent national concerns, when dealing with European Union (EU) affairs. Based on a study of 2,099 parliamentary claims by MPs from Austria, Germany, Ireland and the UK during treaty negotiations and the Eurozone crisis, PADEMIA member Lucy Kinski writes that MPs do in fact also represent citizens from other EU member states. She finds a quite remarkable degree of European representation in national parliamentary debate. Among the four member-states, German MPs focus most on other EU citizens, while their British colleagues do so least. She argues that, by Europeanising their representation, national MPs can contribute to strengthening democracy in Europe.