Table of Contents

1. Introduction: the European parliament and the institutional evolution of legislatures; 2. Theories of legislative development and the European Parliament; 3. The development of the party group system and the party groups; 4. The history of the European Parliament; 5. The internal developments of the European parliament: from collegiality to conflict; 6. The development of the supranational party group system-conflict and cooperation in the coalition formation process; 7. Cooperation and co-decision: the role of ideology and rules; 8. The Internal development of the supranational party groups; An elusive goal; 9. Conclusions: understanding the developmental process.