Confronted by the first wave of epidemics that swept across Europe in March 2020, parliaments were forced to respond quickly. Challenged by a sudden and generalised slowing in economic and social activity, due to the health measures that had been imposed, most of them wished to maintain at least some semblance of activity. The relation with time that parliaments have developed in this regard is complex and largely conditioned by the urgency of the situation.

This study aims both to report on the impact of the pandemic on the leading democratic institution in our countries - the Parliament - and to launch the second phase of an international research project initiated in 2016 by the University of Lille on the subject of "Parliament and the notion of time".

The Robert Schuman Foundation, in partnership with this university network, has published a series of contributions on the developments in the functioning of the parliaments of twelve states European countries during this particular year (Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, France, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, United Kingdom and Sweden), as well as the European Parliament.

The final report is available in electronic format, as well as the studies on France, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Romania, Bulgaria, Sweden, Latvia, Germany, Italy and two contributions on the European Parliament, one by Gabriel Richard-Molard, PhD in European Law, and one by Klaus Welle, Secretary-General of the European Parliament.