Understanding EU Decision-Making
Understanding EU Decision-Making

Author: Edward Best

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-02-04

Total Pages: 155

ISBN-13: 3319223747

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book presents in a concise and accessible way why the EU institutional system exists in its present form, how the EU fits into the world as a system of governance, and who is involved in EU policy processes. It outlines the historical context which has shaped the EU system, gives a summary of the system's basic principles and structures, and describes its actors, procedures and instruments. The main theme is to show that EU decision-making is not just a matter of action at some higher and separate level, of ‘them and us’, but rather that it involves different forms of cooperation between European, national and regional authorities, as well as interaction between public and private actors. Numerous short case studies illustrate how people’s day-to-day activities are affected by EU decisions, and how individuals’ concerns are represented in the decision-making process. The book provides insights and examples which will be very helpful for all students of European integration. It will also be a valuable resource for European citizens wishing to understand the basic realities and rationales, as well as some of the dilemmas, behind EU policy-making.

The European Union Decides
The European Union Decides

Author: Robert Thomson

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-09-14

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 1139458795

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

European legislation affects countless aspects of daily life in modern Europe but just how does the European Union make such significant legislative decisions? How important are the formal decision-making procedures in defining decision outcomes and how important is the bargaining that takes place among the actors involved? Using a combination of detailed evidence and theoretical rigour, this volume addresses these questions and others that are central to understanding how the EU works in practice. It focuses on the practice of day-to-day decision-making in Brussels and the interactions that take place among the Member States in the Council and among the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. A unique data set of actual Commission proposals are examined against which the authors develop, apply and test a range of explanatory models of decision-making, exemplifying how to study decision-making in other political systems using advanced theoretical tools and appropriate research design.

Decision-Making in the European Union
Decision-Making in the European Union

Author: John Peterson

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 1999-05-25

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1349275077

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Based on exhaustive research, this book explains how the European Union makes decisions in seven major policy sectors. Written in a clear, user-friendly style, it brings the EU alive for a student and non-specialist audience. The book's central themes are that informal norms often matter more than formal rules, agency often matters more than structure, and abrupt change often punctuates deadlock. It offers a theoretically-based introduction to the lively, humorous and fascinating politics of a unique experiment in modern governance.

Democratic Decision-making in the EU
Democratic Decision-making in the EU

Author: Anne Elizabeth Stie

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-03-05

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1135125465

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book examines the democratic legitimacy of the European Union (EU) and evaluates the democratic credentials of the EU’s main decision-making procedure. It finds that though there is potential for democratic decision-making in the EU, the actual process is dominated by technocrats and secret meetings. The book assesses and discusses the conditions for democratic input in decision-making with five empirical chapters each addressing the ordinary legislative procedure from different dimensions: democratic deliberative forums, inclusion, openness, power neutralising mechanisms and decision-making capacity. The analytical framework provides for an in-depth assessment of the ordinary legislative procedure’s potential democratic qualities and examines whether it fulfils democratic criteria, how the procedure works in practice and whether it has the necessary democratic clout. The author provides both a theoretical discussion and an empirical assessment of what role the principle of democracy could play in the EU. Filling a gap in EU legislative studies and contributing to the debate on the European democratic deficit, Democratic Decision-making in the EU will be of interest to students and scholars of European Union politics, legislative studies and deliberative democracy.

Policy-making in the European Union
Policy-making in the European Union

Author: Helen S. Wallace

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 566

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This is a fully revised edition of a well-established text for students. It offers an invaluable and up-to- date interpretation of the European policy process. Helen Wallace and William Wallace have assembled a team of internationally-renowned authors to present fourteen case studies --ranging from analyses of the CAP and environmental policy, to the politics of Economic and Monetary Union and the new World Trade Organisation. Helen Wallace also provides, in the two opening chapters, an introduction and overview of European politics, policy, and institutions. In concluding thevolume, William Wallace reflects on the future for the EU as it faces calls for ever closer political integration. Policy-Making in the European Union provides the student with a timely and provocative insight into European integration in a period of critical change.

Decision-making in the European Union
Decision-making in the European Union

Author: John Peterson

Publisher: MacMillan

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9780333604915

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The European Union is a uniquely successful experiment in international cooperation and modern governance. The creation of a single currency and impending eastern enlargement make EU decision-making more important than ever before in determining how Europe is governed. Based on exhaustive and original research, this book provides a clear and theoretically grounded analysis of how the European Union makes decisions. The book provides in-depth coverage of a number of major policy sectors: the internal market, external trade, agriculture, cohesion, the environment, research and technological development, and the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Its central themes--that informal norms often matter more than formal rules, that agency often matters more than structure, and that abrupt change often punctuates deadlock--are developed systematically throughout.

Resolving Controversy in the European Union
Resolving Controversy in the European Union

Author: Robert Thomson

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-09-15

Total Pages: 339

ISBN-13: 1139505173

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

How does the EU resolve controversy when making laws that affect citizens? How has the EU been affected by the recent enlargements that brought its membership to a diverse group of twenty-seven countries? This book answers these questions with analyses of the EU's legislative system that include the roles played by the European Commission, European Parliament and member states' national governments in the Council of Ministers. Robert Thomson examines more than 300 controversial issues in the EU from the past decade and describes many cases of controversial decision-making as well as rigorous comparative analyses. The analyses test competing expectations regarding key aspects of the political system, including the policy demands made by different institutions and member states, the distributions of power among the institutions and member states, and the contents of decision outcomes. These analyses are also highly relevant to the EU's democratic deficit and various reform proposals.

Bureaucrats as Law-makers
Bureaucrats as Law-makers

Author: Frank M. Häge

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 0415689678

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Council of Ministers is one of the most powerful institutions of the European Union (EU) and plays a major role in the European policy-making process. Drawing on formal theory and combining quantitative and qualitative methods in an innovative fashion, this book provides novel insights into the role of national bureaucrats in legislative decision-making of the Council of the EU. The book examines and describes the Council of Ministers' committee system and its internal decision-making process. Relying on a wide quantitative dataset as well as six detailed case studies in the policy areas of Agriculture, Environment, and Taxation, it provides a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the extent to which national bureaucrats act as law-makers in the Council. It also examines the degree to which theories on collective decision-making, delegation, and international socialization can account for variation in the involvement of bureaucrats. Investigating how often and why national officials in working parties and committees, rather than ministers, make legislative decisions in the EU, this book addresses the implications of bureaucratic influence for the democratic legitimacy of Council decision-making. The author finds that ministers play a generally more important role in legislative decision-making than often assumed, alleviating, to some extent, concerns about the democratic legitimacy of Council decisions. Bureaucrats as Law-Makers will be of interest to students, scholars and practitioners in the field of European Union politics and policy-making, legislative decision-making, intergovernmental negotiations and international socialization.