Where are the MEPs from the accession countries? Rapporteurship assignments in the European Parliament after enlargement.

This article seeks to identify factors that influence the chances of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) becoming rapporteurs. More specifically, it attempts to answer the question of how MEPs from the accession countries were integrated into the report allocation process, which is crucial for EU legislative decision-making. Drawing on extended data from the last three legislative terms (1994-2009), the results confirm and challenge existing knowledge. First, the allocation of rapporteurship does not mirror the composition of the full plenary, but points towards strong under-representation of certain national delegations. Most important is the virtual absence of MEPs from the accession countries. Representing 22% of the full plenary, they reported on only 9% of all co-decision procedures concluded in the first legislative term after the 2004 enlargement. This pattern of under-representation is evident even when comparing the figures with first-time MEPs form the longer-standing Member States