MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE AS A POLITICAL MODEL AND ITS INFLUENCE AT THE LEVEL OF EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

The main aim of this essay is to define the concept of multilevel governance as a political model and to identify the effects that this concept has if it is implemented at the level of European Union. Firstly, I will talk about the concept of multilevel governa nce and what it means in practice. Secondly, I will analyze the multilevel governance concept in the context of Eur opean Union. Thirdly, I will show what this concept brings new to the public management, both at national and supranational level. MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE AS A POLITICAL MODEL Governance is identified by the American scholars Hooghe and Marks (2003), as being the binding decision-making at the level of public sphere and analyzed in its various forms. There are new forms of governance and dispersion of decision-making that goes away from the central states and that gained the attention of numerous political sciences scholars. It is a period when centralized authority, command and control, has few advocates, but the modern way of governance gains more and more supporters. Multilevel governance is a model that is well descr ibed by the scholars of politics and public administration. Governance signifies a chang e in the meaning of government to the new process of governing. In fact, the scholars (Rh odes 2000,) identify more definitions of the concept of governance, as a tool for reforming public administration. The first - governance as corporate behavior , means more efficiency in this sector, by recommen ding openness, integrity and completeness and also accou ntability with the clear allocation of roles and individual accountability (CIPFA, 1994:6 in Szc zerski, 2004). The second is governance as New Public Management means the use of corporate management and marketing at the level of public administration, at key levels. The third is governance as good governance and it was born at the World Bank level, and it tries t o mix the previous idea with the idea of liberal democracy standards, meaning efficient, op en, accountable and audited public service (World Bank 1992: 611). This aim should be achieved through reducing over- staffing, introducing budgetary discipline, decentr alization and more usage of non- governmental organization. The fourth definition - governance as a socio-cybernetic system , shows the limits of the state-centric approach of g overning, by introducing terms of interactive political administrative polycentric sy stem, where government is no longer a single sovereign authority. The fifth definition - governance as New Political Economy shows the interrelations of the state with the economy and th e role of the state as coordinator of economic activities.