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addition, the entrenched practice of seeking an early conclusion
creates a path-dependent effect and modifies expectations.
The reduction in the number of conciliations led to a
situation in which conciliation is seen more and more as an
exception. Actors become less used to it and it requires
greater efforts to explain “the rules of the game.” The
Council seems increasingly to try to avoid conciliations
and Presidencies seem to feel more at ease with the
flexibility of 1st and 2nd reading negotiations. Conciliation
is perceived by Presidencies as a more demanding procedure
which requires the presence of Ministers, has strict
deadlines, translation and interpretation requirements etc.
(European Parliament, 2009: 21)
Informal decision making further significantly constrains
formal decision making because MEPs find themselves under
considerable political pressure not to re-open deals struck in the
informal arena (Reh, 2014: 826). The mechanism, however,
through which the informalization of decision-making changes
power distribution among actors is not limited to modified
expectations. Actors who represent their institutions in informal
inter-institutional negotiations
—
commonly known as
relais
actors
—
enjoy informational advantages over actors who do not
participate in these negotiations. Over time, the increased use of
secluded trilogue negotiations to reach early agreements has led to
a redistribution of power between the
relais
actors and
rank-and-file parliamentarians. Disproportionately, it is the big
political parties (and their rapporteurs in particular) and largest
Member States that are privileged. Such a redistribution of power
renders the electorate even less relevant in the European system of
representative democracy (Farrell & Héritier, 2004; Häge &
Naurin, 2013: 954; Reh, 2014: 827; Reh, Héritier, Bressanelli, &
Koop, 2013: 2). The far-reaching impact of this mode of early
agreement prompted Martin Schulz to state in his inaugural speech
that “[i]f our Parliament is to become more visible, if greater