The Multi-Level Administration of the EU: Transnational Coordination Through National and Supranational Bureaucracies

Abstract

The paper addresses the emergence of a multi-level administration in the European Union (EU) which consists of EU agencies, national agencies, and transnational agency networks. A key interest of the paper is to provide a descriptive overview of the phenomenon, to analyse why different types of multi-level administration emerge, and how they matter on three dimensions: First, we elucidate how different types of administrative multi-level arrangements matter for national agencies, for example their ability to deliver public services and their autonomy. Second, we explore how they impact on European agencies and transnational networks, for example their ability to influence European policy-making and implementation. Third, we focus on the interplay between national and supranational administrative actors. The rationale of the paper is essentially to review the existing literature, though it also aims at exploring several aspects that hitherto have not been at the core of research.