Abstract
AbstractEuropeanization research found no general convergence towards centralized EU policy coordination, despite decentralized systems' comparatively slow and ineffective position‐taking. Does this finding hold against the threat, urgency, and uncertainty exerted by recent years' polycrisis? We posit that decentralized systems indeed persist, albeit in a three‐step reactive sequence in which situational centralization during crises dialectically reinforces decentralization in the long run. First, the prime minister's office harnesses a crisis to acquire hierarchical control of position‐taking. Second, to exploit the deep expertise of the bureaucracy and maximize its bargaining power on the EU‐level, it co‐opts a lead ministry. Third, due to the institutional underpinnings of the decentralized system, the lead ministry, rather than the prime minister's office, eventually retains the administrative capacities created in crisis. We illustrate this causal mechanism in a comparison of the German government's EU policy coordination during the Eurozone and Schengen crises.
Highlights
EU crises have moved from polity to policy
Change in decentralized EU policy coordination systems is very unlikely because the institutional factors that led to the development of the decentralized system allow actors profiting from the status quo to defend it
Our study demonstrates why recent years’ polycrisis has not prompted permanent centralization among and can even reinforce decentralized systems of EU policy coordination
Summary
EU crises have moved from polity to policy. Past crises like the failure of the constitutional treaty resulted from conflicts over the development of the EU polity. Due to their severe effects on member states’ economies and societies, EU policy crises require decision-making ‘under time pressure and highly uncertain circumstances’ Situational centralization strengthens EU-related capacity and expertise of line ministries and the backbone of decentralized coordination systems We illustrate this reactive sequence on a within-case comparison of German EU policy coordination during the Eurozone and the Schengen crises. Our study contributes to research on the Europeanization of core executives It demonstrates how decentralized coordination systems are dialectically able to harness crisis-induced centralization pressures for long-term decentralization. Our study speaks to the broader literature on EU integration It suggests that decentralized coordination systems allow member state governments to strategically maximize their bargaining power in EU-level negotiations. Further analyses of the strategic usage of this reactive sequence in EU crisis management could enhance our understanding of the domestic sources of EU-level bargaining success
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