While the ability of the European Parliament (EP) to influence policy outcomes through the ordinary legislative procedure (OLP) is generally recognized, its ability to help shape the policy agenda is much less clear. The formal monopoly of the Commission over the introduction of legislative initiatives obfuscates the influence of other institutional actors in the agenda-setting process. This research examines the ability of the EP to shape the EU’s legislative agenda through its use of own initiative resolutions (EPOIR) and explores the variables that increase or impede their relative impact. Utilizing a new dataset of all EPOIR between 2000-2017 that includes data on EPOIR type and saliency, as well as information on the rapporteur related to experience, ideology and links to national governments, we demonstrate the extent to which EPOIR are able to influence Commission legislative proposals and when they are more likely to do so. Our analysis distinguishes between ‘agenda setting’ and ‘content shaping’ influence, as well as efforts by the Commission to use the existence of EPOIR simply to signal support for its initiatives. Through this research we are able to demonstrate that the legislative influence of the EP is not limited to the amending of proposals during the OLP, but in some cases includes agenda setting through its use of EPOIR.