Zagadnienie istnienia europejskiego systemu partyjnego – rozważania terminologiczne
The issue of the European party system – terminological considerations

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present the parties operating at the European level in order to show their specificity and the system of relations emerging among them. The paper consists of three parts. In the first one, a triad: the national parties – political groups in the EP – political parties at the European level (Europarties) are characterized. In the second one, the concept of the party system is presented. In the third one, this concept and its components (parties, interactions) are applied to discuss the adequacy of their use in the European context. While it is possible to speak of European political parties, it is much more difficult to prove the existence of a European party system. Interactions among the Europarties take place only in the parliamentary arena, but there is no competition between the governing majority and the opposition. These relations lie more in building the consensus necessary for the EP to decide by majority vote. There is no European party system in the electoral arena, where national parties compete, nor in the governmental arena, as the European ‘government’ (Commission, European Council) is not appointed on the basis of the political parties.

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