Increasing use of delegated acts and decline in parliamentary scrutiny

Question for written answer E-000011/2026
to the Commission
Rule 144
Jean-Paul Garraud (PfE)

For several years now, the Commission has been making increasing use of the delegated acts provided for in Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, including in sensitive areas that have an impact on Member States' competences or the institutional balance. The proliferation of these acts raises serious questions around democratic scrutiny, insofar as the European Parliament and national parliaments have limited scope to examine their content, desirability and specific legal repercussions.

This practice contributes to a gradual transfer of legislative decisions to the Commission, without any in-depth legislative debate or explicit consent by the general public, and it undermines the separation of powers within the Union.

In view of the above:

• 1.What objective criteria does the Commission apply when deciding whether to use a delegated act or the ordinary legislative procedure?
• 2.How does it rationalise the effects of these acts on areas that fall mainly within national competences, without any real scrutiny by national parliaments?
• 3.Does it plan to strengthen the parliamentary scrutiny mechanisms - including through an extended right of veto or longer scrutiny periods - to ensure that Member States' sovereignty is respected?

Submitted: 5.1.2026