The Illusion of Accountability in the European Union
The Illusion of Accountability in the European Union

Author: Sverker Gustavsson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-09-11

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 1135220581

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This book examines accountability in the EU from different perspectives and considers whether EU citizens have real opportunities for holding decision-makers accountable. This book critically analyses five arguments which claim there are sufficient means for holding decision-makers to account in the Union. The main conclusion is that the current institutional set-up and practice of decision-making in the EU is one that merely creates an illusion of accountability. Using a strict framework focusing on the difference between formal mechanisms and actual opportunities for accountability, this highly coherent volume will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics, especially those interested in the democratic foundations of the European political system. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9780415480994_oachapter1.pdf

The Oxford Handbook of European Union Law
The Oxford Handbook of European Union Law

Author: Anthony Arnull

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 1073

ISBN-13: 0199672644

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Since its formation, the European Union has expanded beyond all expectations; this seems set to continue as more countries seek accession and the scope of EU law expands, touching more and more aspects of its citizens' lives. The EU has never been stronger and yet it now appears to be reaching a crisis point, beset on all sides by conflict and challenges to its legitimacy. Nationalist sentiment is on the rise and the Eurozone crisis has had a deep and lasting impact. The European Union has the complexity and depth of a mature legal system, albeit one which is constantly in flux and whose content and foundations are constantly contested. Its law has developed beyond the single market and institutional matters into many other fields including environmental, fiscal, labour, immigration and criminal law. It is studied at undergraduate and postgraduate level throughout the Member States and beyond; an understanding of it is essential to those who study the EU from other disciplinary perspectives as well as to legal practitioners and policy-makers. The Oxford Handbook of European Union Law comprises eight sections examining how we are to conceptualise EU law; the architecture of EU law; making and administering EU law; the economic constitution and the citizen; regulation of the market place; economic, monetary and fiscal union; the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice; and what lies beyond the regulatory state. Each chapter summarises, analyses and reflects on the state of play in a given area, and suggests how it is likely to develop in the foreseeable future. The resulting collection provides a vivid and provocative tapestry which will be widely used both inside and outside academia by those who are interested in the law underpinning the EU and its policies.

The Routledge Handbook to Accountability and Welfare State Reforms in Europe
The Routledge Handbook to Accountability and Welfare State Reforms in Europe

Author: Tom Christensen

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2016-11-25

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1317044207

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There is growing concern that welfare states are inefficient, unsustainable and lack popular support. New Public Management reforms affected the balance between managerial and political accountability and disrupted administrative, legal, professional and social accountability, causing confusion as to whom public organizations are really accountable. The Routledge Handbook to Accountability and Welfare State Reforms in Europe assesses multi-dimensional accountability relations in depth, addressing the dynamic between accountability and reforms. Analyzing how welfare state reforms oriented towards agencification, managerialism and marketization affected existing relationships in services traditionally provided by public institutions, the theoretically informed, empirical chapters provide specific examples of their effect on accountability. Expert contributors explore the relationship between accountability and performance and the impact of reforms on political, administrative, managerial, legal, professional and social accountability. The role of specific actors, such as the media and citizens, on the accountability process addressing issues of blame avoidance, reputation and autonomous agencies is discussed. Comparative chapters across time, countries, administrative levels and policy areas are included, along with discussions linking accountability with concepts like legitimacy, democracy, coordination and performance. This handbook will be an essential reference tool to those studying European politics and public policy.

Controlling EU Agencies
Controlling EU Agencies

Author: Miroslava Scholten

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2020-05-29

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1789905427

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Controlling EU Agencies launches the debate on how to build a comprehensive system of controls in light of the ongoing trends of agencification and Europeanisation of the executive in the EU.

The European Ombudsman and Good Administration in the European Union
The European Ombudsman and Good Administration in the European Union

Author: Nikos Vogiatzis

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-10-01

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 1137573953

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This book explores the work of the European Ombudsman and her or his contribution to holding the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies to account, through examination of complaints on maladministration, own-initiative inquiries and other proactive efforts. It considers the Ombudsman’s current institutional and constitutional position and her or his ‘method’ of dealing with complaints, and unravels the depth of subject matters that fall under the Ombudsman’s remit. A separate chapter focuses on transparency and access to documents. The last part of the book critically reflects upon the present mandate and practice of the Ombudsman, and discusses a number of possible proposals for improvement. This work has interdisciplinary appeal and will engage scholars in law, political science and public administration, as well as EU and national policy-makers.

Economic and Monetary Union at Twenty
Economic and Monetary Union at Twenty

Author: David Howarth

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-05-19

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 1000386813

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The contributions to this book examine the two main asymmetries of the Euro Area as they have intensified during the second decade of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU): the first between monetary union (more supranational governance) versus ‘economic’ union (less centralised governance); the second between those Euro Area member states of the so-called ‘core’ and those of the ‘periphery’. EMU stands as one of the European Union’s (EU) flagship integration achievements. Set up in 1999, with the large majority of EU member states at the time, EMU was described as ‘asymmetrical’ even prior to its start. From the outset, it involved asymmetrical integration in monetary and ‘economic’ union. Although a major element of the blueprint that paved the way for the final stage of EMU, the concept of ‘economic’ union was insufficiently developed. The second decade of the single currency gave rise to a second asymmetry, namely one between those Euro Area member states of the ‘core’ and those of the ‘periphery’. The ten contributions to this volume speak to one or both of these asymmetries, covering the major political, political economy and policy dimensions of EMU and the ongoing debates about necessary policy and institutional reforms to overcome these asymmetries and bolster Euro Area stability. The outbreak of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Crisis in 2020 created unprecedented socio-economic challenges for Euro Area member states, heightening the perceived urgency of reform. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration.

Handbook on European Union Public Administration
Handbook on European Union Public Administration

Author: Gijs J. Brandsma

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2024-05-02

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 1802209018

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This Handbook introduces the institutions, organisations and policy processes that make up EU public administration, including those that typically operate beneath the surface, and critically reviews the state of the art in research. Paying close attention to the multi-level nature of EU governance, it is a vital resource for graduate and postgraduate students in the disciplines of European studies, political science and EU law. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

The European Union
The European Union

Author: Simona Piattoni

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2015-07-16

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0191025577

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This book seeks to answer the question 'Which institutional architecture for which kind of democracy for the EU?' by bringing two important recent debates together- the institutional analysis of the Union and its democratic assessment. The book examines a series of institutional architectures in light of the democratic quality of the processes and decisions generated by them. The discussion of these various institutional architectures is preceded by an analysis of the democratic values and principles according to which institutional architectures and governance structures should be assessed. The first part of the volume starts from key democratic principles and indicates which institutional architectures are most likely to embody them. The second part is dedicated to those institutional architectures that best describe the current state of the European Union and its likely future development, particularly given the impact of the current economic crisis. The fundamental belief that animates this volume is that it is only by paying attention to the democratic legitimacy of the Union that the process of European integration may hope to be sustainable, particularly in the face of the difficult economic crisis that the members of the Euro-area and the Union in general are experiencing.

Democratic Politics in a European Union Under Stress
Democratic Politics in a European Union Under Stress

Author: Olaf Cramme

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0198724489

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This book offers the first comprehensive political analysis of the Euro crisis that erupted in Greece in 2010 and subsequently threatened the very survival of the Euro area. It has left a profound mark on democratic politics all over Europe, changing public attitudes and voting preferences, institutional and societal norms, and deeply anchored political traditions. The contributors to this volume reveal the extent to which policymakers are torn between the pressures emanating from financial markets and the demands put forward by their own constituents; how they struggle to reconcile national preferences with wider European interests; and how a polarized and politicized Union seeks to maintain some degree of cohesion. The emerging picture is that of a European Union under serious stress, transformed by new governance structures and a shifting balance of power. In response, the authors evaluate the prospects of a more legitimate and democratic Europe. They provide a rich and pluralist set of new analyses and proposals, aimed at understanding and navigating the myriad tensions which surround the EU in the aftermath of the crisis. If the European project is to regain the trust of its citizens, such considerations must take a central place in public debate.