For all that, the European Parliament’s importance goes far beyond its members’ technical expertise on complex issues, or its usefulness as a democratic fig leaf for an EU decision-making process that is dominated by inter-governmental horse-trading. The parliament has been able to claw greater power for itself because it is the only mechanism Europe has for questioning and challenging EU policy proposals, and ironing out the sometimes clumsy and high-handed diktats of Brussels’ officialdom.