ABSTRACT – The article analyses the new Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission, assessing its impact on the EU institutional balance. While it constitutes a targeted update of the 2010 Framework Agreement, it introduces several significant innovations aimed at strengthening the Parliament’s democratic oversight, in particular with regard to its indirect right of initiative, the provisional application of international agreements, and the use of the “emergency” legal basis under Article 122 TFEU. The article highlights how these innovations, broadly compatible with the Treaties, reflect a renewed assertiveness of the Parliament, both in defending its prerogatives and in calling on the Commission to exercise greater autonomy vis-à-vis the Council. However, it also underlines that the new Framework Agreement falls short of fully rebalancing the intergovernmental drift in the distribution of powers within the Union.
