Markus Stanat examines the institutionalization of the parliamentary committee for European affairs of the French National Assembly from its establishment in 1979 to 2002. Against the backdrop of constitutional and parliamentary law, he analyzes the formal foundations and the specific functioning of the Europe Delegation. This highlights the unique tension between the restrictive legal framework and the parliamentary elasticity within the political system of the Fifth Republic. The author provides insight into the complex working structures of the National Assembly and demonstrates that, despite constitutional limitations, a functionally flexible working structure has been established.