European Union Governance And Policy Making

"Divided into three parts, European Union Governance and Policy Making examines the political system of the EU (history, theories, institutions, etc.), specific policies, and some of the challenges that the EU currently faces. Geared towards students who are learning about the EU in Canadian classrooms, the text integrates Canadian content and examples to demonstrate how Canada compares to the EU. The introduction introduces three core themes for the study of the EU, and each chapter returns to these, creating structure and coherence."--

The policies of the European Union profoundly affect the lives of people in Europe and around the world. The new edition of this highly successful textbook outlines how and why such decisions are made, as well as the key challenges faced by policy-makers in the current political and economic climate. Policy-Making in the European Union begins by clarifying the institutional framework of the EU and the analytical approaches used to understand it. A wide range of crucial and illustrative policies are then explored in detail by subject experts. This volume includes new chapters on ways of analyzing the EU's policy process and on energy policy. A central theme to the volume is how the recent expansion to twenty-seven member states has affected policy-making across the different policy sectors. The conclusion reflects on how this challenge and the protracted constitutional stalemate have affected policy-making in the EU. It also explores the impact of the financial and economic crises that have struck Europe over the past several years. The sixth edition is fully up-to-date, and is the ideal text for all those with an interest in the policy-making of the European Union.

This textbook introduces students to the politics of the European Union (EU) and discusses the most important challenges the EU is facing.

The European Commission has increasingly focused on the benefits it can derive from the greater participation of organized civil society in its role and activities. In the face of general decline in public trust in the institutions of government, it facilitated and encouraged new channels of access and consultation opportunities as a means to legitimize its position within the European political system. Karen Heard-Lauréote’s comparative analysis of four European Commission advisory forums innovatively investigates the existence of a conflict between the capacities of such forums to deliver standards of good governance. The author questions whether these venues can provide efficiency gains via the production of sufficient policy output without delays or deadlocks at reasonable cost and sustain adequate democratic credentials such as legitimacy. This study makes a significant contribution to its field by pursuing contemporary legitimacy debates asking whether under certain conditions or in certain policy-making contexts, legitimacy and efficiency may be reconciled or become at least partially compatible in European Commission committees. European Union Governance will be of interest to students and researchers of European Union politics and policy-making.

How can one convince potent nation-states to put their sovereignty at risk in common European policies? EU cohesion policy, now one-third of the EU budget, provides such a puzzle. Until 1988 the European Commission shared out money to national governments with few strings attached. Since the reform of 1988, national governments are required to negotiate with the Commission and regional authorities on how to use the money. Has this European-wide policy eroded national sovereignty in favour of a stronger role for the Commission and more power for Europe's regions? The first part of the book probes into the policy dynamics at the European level. In the second part, eight country studies evaluate the impact of uniform EU policy on territorial relations by comparing policy making before and after the reform. The concluding section explains persistent variation in EU cohesion decision making and implementation.

Do the traditional tools of governance make sense in the decidedly nontraditional political entity that is the European Union? Or are the realities of the unique EU system generating new, and sometimes eclectic approaches to policymaking? This book responds to these questions, and explores the development of governance approaches in policy areas.

The book presents a theoretically informed typology of modes of governance which is tested in a careful selection of comparative country and policy studies. At the core is the question whether the European Union is destined to a network type of governance and whether and how this type of governance will be translated into the member states. The individual chapters subject the governing patterns at European and national level to empirical scrutiny. Drawing on recent research findings in different issue areas - including monetary union, social affairs, environment, genetic engineering and market liberalisation in transport, banking, energy, professional services - the contributions highlight the impact of the European activities on policy-making process in the member states.

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.