Stakeholder Participation in European Standardization: A Mapping and an Assessment of Three Categories of Regulation

Abstract

The continuum of Internal Market regulation comprises various kinds of regulatory measures, including legislation, harmonized and non-harmonized standards, and private ‘self-regulation’ of different origins. Public, as well as private actors, participate in the continuous development of European regulation. The different actors’ competences and roles vary during the processes, but it is evident that both public and private actors obtain a vital position in the collective production of European regulation. This article contributes with a mapping and categorization of the applied regulatory ‘means and measures’ related to Internal Market regulation and an assessment of stakeholder participation in three categories. Firstly, this article provides an outline of contemporary EU regulatory policies applied in the Internal Market regulation, and discusses the concepts of regulatory governance and regulation. Secondly, the different variants of regulation are allocated within three main categories: (1) public legislation; (2) co-regulation, and; (3) private selfregulation. Case examples of the different categories of regulation are explicated to illustrate the variances among the three types and of the ex-ante participatory processes. Finally, the article provides an assessment of stakeholder participation vis-à-vis the three categories of regulation.