Better Safe than Sorry? Strategic Delegation in the European Parliament

Decision-making in the European Parliament predominantly takes place at committee level, where party groups delegate authority to party group coordinators, who in turn delegate important legislative responsibilities to rapporteurs. Chosen in every committee by their party group peers at the beginning of the legislative term, coordinators face a limited talent pool and can strategically select agents in order to minimize agency loss vis-à-vis themselves or the party group. While there is an extensive literature about rapporteurship allocation, the intervening variable of the coordinator has so far been neglected. Drawing on comprehensive data on coordinators and rapporteurships in the 2009-2014 legislative term, we investigate two questions. First, to what extent do coordinators prioritize their own preferences over those of the party group when selecting an agent (i.e. rapporteur)? Second, what are the scope conditions of these selection logics? The findings provide evidence for when “safe” rapporteurs are chosen that will toe the party group line. This has important implications for intra-parliamentary and intra-party delegation, party group cohesion and broader policy-making in the European Union.