From Policy to Politics? Informal Practices within the Social Protection Committee after the Enlargement

Abstract

Informal institutional changes take place at different levels in the European Union (EU) within all types of governance arrangements, especially after such significant events as EU enlargements. These adjustments not only influence the operation of informal networks, but also the functioning of more or less formal institutions. This article analyses informal institutional changes within the Social Protection Committee (SPC) — a committee that operates within the framework of the Open Method of Coordination — after the 2004 enlargement. As specialized committees form an important part of the policy‐making process in the European Union, analyses on the impacts of recent EU enlargements are not complete without examining how the inclusion of new member states influenced these arenas of decision‐making. Based on a micro‐level analysis of institutional reinterpretation and change, the article argues that enlargement has been leading to informal changes in working practices within the SPC, which have the potential to affect both social governance in the EU and policy outcomes in the long run.