ABSTRACT
The application of integration theory as a tool to understand the behaviour of Members of the European Parliament (MEP) at political groups (PG) and European Parliament (EP) level deserves attention and may open up a whole new area of research. Since the focus of this research has been introspective of the dynamics within the PG and the EP rather than on their impact on other European Union institutions, another aspect which may warrant a more in-depth investigation is the study of the effect of the EP’s policies on the decisions of the Council, in the cases. As the expansive integration dynamic predicts, it is undeniable that the unintended consequences of their actions may have an impact on the construction of supranational policy and the deepening of integration. As such the EP, along with its political groups, may function as a “midwife for the integration process”.
