The strengthening of the European Parliament's budgetary powers: the implications in the negotiations of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MAFF).

Since the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the European Parliamentary Assembly has seen its powers constantly increase, particularly in budgetary matters. Having since become the European Parliament, whose members are elected by direct universal suffrage by European citizens for the first time in 1979, this institution has managed to assert itself, particularly in relation to the Council, to the point of obtaining a position of co-decision-maker and co-legislator in certain areas thanks to successive treaties (Brussels in 1975, Single European Act in 1986, Maastricht in 1992 and especially Lisbon in 2007). Various powers were granted to it, such as the rights of approval and rejection, or amendment. It has become essential in certain democratic budgetary processes such as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MAFF). This development was a response to a growing demand from European citizens for greater transparency and legitimacy, particularly concerning EU finances. However, there are still certain areas and mechanisms over which it has no power, except sometimes a consultative role, such as the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), a sector largely devolved to the Council and the Member States. The prism of "New Institutionalism" is essential to determine and understand the implications of strengthening Parliament's budgetary powers on the Multiannual Financial Framework. Certain new issues in areas such as artificial intelligence or the prospect of a new enlargement constitute as many challenges to be addressed as opportunities for the European Parliament to assert its place and power within the institutional triangle where it has all its legitimacy. This is a democratic issue that could influence the future of the European Union.