How the EU works

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How the EU works

• Week 5
• 28 October 2008

2
Todays Session

• Allocation of groups for Week 8 presentations
• Week 7 Split readings
• Review Objective of the first few weeks
• The EU policy making process - the complexity of
  the process multi-faceted, multi-actor,
  multi-layered
• How can we understand and explain such a process?
  What theoretical tools are available?

3
Todays session

• Hour 1
• Tutors comments review and overview of the EU
  institutions
• Discussion formal decision making procedures
  and policy-making roles of the key institutions

4
Todays session

• Hour 2
• Group work and discussion Characterising the EU
  policy process
• How can the EU policy process be understood and
  explained?
• Which theories and approaches can help us in
  this?
• What modes of EU governance can be identified?

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Why Study Institutions?

• What do we understand by the term institution?
• Why do institutions matter?
• Starting point for examining the EU policy
  process
• Identifying the actors involved and the impulses
  for change
• Addresses questions of where the power lies
• Provides an idea of the scope of EU activity and
  its capacity to manage change and address
  challenges
• Gives us an idea of process and possible
  destination

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How can we understand EU institutional evolution?

• Phases
• Foundation
• Consolidation
• Adaptation
• Rationalisation
• How can we understand the dynamics of
  institutional change?

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The EU Policy-Making Process

• What levels of analysis and types of decision are
  identified by Peterson and Bomberg (1999)?
• Who are the dominant actors at each level and
  within each decision type?
• How can the theoretical literature help us to
  make sense of the EUs multi level
  decision-making system?

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Theory and EU Policy Making

• Richardson (2006), Pollack (2005) and Peterson
  and Bomberg (1999)
• IG/LI and Neofunctionalism
• New Institutionalism
• Governance Approach/Policy Networks
• Strengths and Limitations

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Source Peterson and Bomberg 1999 ch1
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Source Peterson and Bomberg 1999 ch1
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The EU Policy-Making Process

• Summarise the argument made by Richardson
• What is the utility of the policy network
  approach for understanding the EU policy process?
• How do epistemic communities and advocacy
  coalitions influence the EU policy process?

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Source derived from Richardson 2006 7
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EU Modes of Governance

• There is no one community mode which makes
  explaining and describing policy-making even more
  complex!!
• IDENTIFIABLE MODES
• Classical Community Method
• EU Regulatory Mode
• EU Distributional Mode
• Policy Coordination Mode
• Intensive Transgovernmental Mode
• Source Wallace, Wallace and Polack, 2006 ch3

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Summary

• The importance of institutions
• Understanding and explaining the complexity of EU
  policy making
• EU policy making - multi-faceted, multi-actor,
  multi-layered