Commission's Ability Research Articles

The effect of trilogues on the European Commission's success in legislative negotiations: A reappraisal

Informal negotiations have become the norm in the European Union legislative process. Yet, researchers are divided over the effects of this change on the European Commission's ability to defend the content of its proposals from modifications by the co-legislators. This article addresses this puzzle by using a fine-grained measure of whether informal negotiations took place which includes trivial agreements, namely legislation adopted in first reading because the co-legislators agree on the content, as a specific category. The results suggest that informal negotiations do not lead to more changes to the Commission's proposals than the formal process. This calls for a better consideration of trivial agreements in studies of the European Union legislative process.

The EU Commission: Supplying enforcement and demanding compliance

During the last 20 years, the European Union has been mired in crisis after crisis. At the same time, the number of infringement procedures, the formal requests from the European Commission to member states for compliance, decreased dramatically, despite the addition of 10 member states in 2004. Yet, the link between crises and Commission enforcement activity has not been systematically examined. In this article, I theorize about the role of time, and demonstrate that crises limit the Commission's ability to act as guardian of the treaties. However, crises are not deterministic in nature – the European Parliament and European Union citizens can alter the costs of Commission enforcement. I find that as Euroscepticism increases, the Commission's demand for compliance decreases, in part due to the steep reputational costs to the Commission when member states refuse compliance, especially after sanctions. The number of infringements is also positively correlated with European Parliament action, suggesting that even without formal sanctioning power, the European Parliament plays a role in European Union law enforcement.

Overcoming challenges to the adjudication of election-related disputes at the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights: Perspectives from the Ngandu case

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is increasingly taking on the role of a regional electoral adjudication body in resolving election-related human rights violations. While this role is essential because of the contested nature of elections in Africa and the inability of many national election resolution mechanisms to sanction election irregularities, the African Commission must master the intricacies of election dispute resolution in member states for its recommendations to be based on sound legal principles. Its decision in the Ngandu case provides an opportunity to assess the nature of some of the challenges faced by the Commission when adjudicating election-related disputes and how to overcome these. In this decision, the African Commission found that the Democratic Republic of the Congo had violated the complainant's right to defence, to political participation and to work following the annulment of his election as a member of the National Assembly by the country's interim Constitutional Court (the Supreme Court of justice). The analysis of the case suggests that, despite the African Commission's ability to re-affirm the relevance of the right to political participation for the consolidation of democracy in Africa and protecting the right to a fair trial and to work, it must address three types of challenges in its role as election-adjudication body using the procedural mechanisms provided for in both the African Charter and the Rules of Procedure. These challenges are the knowledge of electoral justice systems operating in the DRC and Africa at large; the impossibility of restitution as a form of reparation; and the state's participation in proceedings and the implementation of recommendations.

‘Masking madness with gaiety’: innovating sound exhibition in Australia and the Royal Commission's failure to prevent the talkie wars

The 1927–1928 Royal Commission on the Moving Picture Industry in Australia sought to strengthen the domestic film industry's competitiveness against foreign investment, technology and manpower. Although it concluded before the wide-scale rollout of sound exhibition, it began collecting evidence after the coming of sound had already begun to make waves. Beginning in 1924 and continuing beyond the Commission, agents of the US De Forest Phonofilms company, primed the local market for sound through a series of publicity events. Their activities lead the local trade press to dub the Australian Phonofilms franchise as the instigator of a ‘Talkie War’, challenging the Commission's ability to curtail the expansion of human capital and technology from the USA. Within a year of its conclusion, agents from the US Western Electric company arrived in Australia to wire the major capital city theatres with sound. Initially, this strengthened Hollywood's foothold in ways that the Commission was anxious to avoid. Hoyts Theatres intensified the ‘Talkie-gear war’ by backing the ‘Australian-made’ Markophone as a competitor to the US Fox–Movietone sound system. Hence, while the Commission failed to achieve its aims, local pioneers took action by innovating rival sound systems with local technology, engineering and showmanship. Markophone wired up the ‘Talkie War’ in face of local and international competition in ways that differed from nearly all alternative sound systems.

The European Commission's ability to deal with wicked problems: an in-depth case study of the governance of food security

ABSTRACTThe European Commission's ability to cope with wicked problems is generally viewed as inadequate because of its hierarchical and inflexible modus operandi. Recent research suggests, however, that the Commission may be better equipped to deal with wicked problems than is commonly assumed. To elucidate these contradictory viewpoints, we analysed conditions that enable or constrain the Commission in dealing with wicked problems. To do so, we applied a framework consisting of five governance capabilities required to deal with wicked problems (reflexivity, responsiveness, resilience, revitalization and rescaling) to a case study of how the Commission deals with the wicked problem of food security. Although our results confirm some of the earlier critiques, we have also identified various enabling conditions, most notably inter-service and inter-institutional procedures and structures, boundary arrangements and a widespread tolerance of frame conflicts, uncertainty and cross-scale dynamics. However, the Commission lacks a mechanism to continuously monitor and adjust its capabilities, thereby running the risk of challenges remaining unforeseen and unanticipated.

The rhetoric of the President of the European Commission: charismatic leader or neutral mediator?

ABSTRACTDespite efforts made to improve communication, the Commission is still facing difficulties getting across its messages. Scholars have stressed how both structural and personal characteristics impede the Commission's ability to communicate. These obstacles are particularly troublesome in connection to crisis situations when the European Union receives the most media attention and scrutiny. At the national level, research has shown that political actors tend to increase their use of charismatic rhetoric during crisis events as a way of gaining and sustaining legitimacy and credibility. In this study we explore whether the same pattern can be seen at the European level by examining the European Commission during the financial and eurozone crisis. The main findings of the study demonstrate the opposite; that is, as the crisis got worse and as member states got increasingly engaged in its management, the Commission's rhetoric became less charismatic.

The European Commission's Ability to Act Under European Competition Law. The Example of Telecommunications and Electricity Policy

European competition law allocates far-reaching competences to the European Commission. The paper asks for the conditions under which the Commission may use these rights against the member states, focusing on the most powerful provision - the right of the Commission under Article 90 to issue directives by itself in those cases where member-state governments have allocated specific rights to undertakings that conflict with the Treaty's rules. In addition the Commission may pursue Treaty violations on a case-by-case basis. In European telecommunications policy the Commission has used its powers rather successfully, with all liberalization decisions being based on Article 90. But for European electricity policy the Commission has shrunk away from using these powers in favor of initiating council legislation. The paper analyzes the conditions of the Commission's ability to act under European competition law in a multi-level framework, drawing among others on a principal-agent approach.

Research progress of anti-tumor effect of the modified DC vaccines

Dendritic cells is the most powerful professional antigen presenting cells in vivo.In recent years,DC vaccine has become one of the research hotspots in tumor treatment.DC vaccine which is modified by varieties of genes can solve antigens dissociation and tumor immune escape and so on caused by the weak tumor cell immunogenicity and lower DC antigen commission ability,and can induce stronger antitumor immune response,which can achieve inhibitory tumor,reduce tumor effect and brings new hope for patients with tumor. Key words: Dendritic cells; Transfection; Neoplasms; Immunotherapy

Discretion by the rules: European state aid policy and the 1999 Procedural Regulation

The contribution assesses the effectiveness of the Procedural Regulation on the Commission's ability to control state aid. Using a principal–agent framework infused with insight from sociological institutionalism and data during the period 1992–2004, the study finds the Regulation strengthened the Commission's hand, reducing state aid. The study has implications for the single market and the literatures of international delegation and bureaucratic control.

The Impetus for Legislation Revoking the Joint Commission's Deemed Status as a Medicare Accrediting Agency

A change in the Medicare law in 2008 removed the "deeming" status of the Joint Commission and forced the accrediting body to formally apply to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for its continued authority to determine a hospital as eligible for participation in federal programs. This legislation was reportedly justified by a critical concern about the Joint Commission's ability to ensure patient safety through its hospital accreditation program. This article provides a comprehensive evaluation of the issues surrounding congressional legislation revoking the Joint Commission's special authority and calls into question the validity of that concern for the safety of hospitalized patients based on the Joint Commission's performance. The legal history of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' oversight of hospital accreditation is considered. The 2004 US Government Accountability Office report that triggered the relevant section of the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 is closely examined for validity. Once these relevant factors are reviewed, the reader may conclude that the legislation revoking Joint Commission's deemed status was not adequately justified.

India, Pakistan and cooperation along the Indus River system

Despite receiving accolades for being the example of cooperation, India and Pakistan's peaceful management of their Indus River system remains largely unexamined. Scholars that do consider this case classify it as passive cooperation. To support their classification, they point to the Indus Waters Treaty's allocation of the river system between India and Pakistan and suggest that it severed the interdependent relationship and need to cooperate. Consequently, this paper seeks to demonstrate that India and Pakistan remain interdependent in managing their Indus River system and for over 40 years, they have sustained active cooperation. To account for the maintenance of this cooperation the paper argues that it is necessary to consider the design of the Permanent Indus Commission, an institution established to manage the Indus River. The ability of Indian and Pakistani commissioners to communicate directly and hold regular meetings permitted them to perform the necessary standard and operating procedures for the functioning of the institution. The commission's ability to monitor development of the river system has enabled it to ease member states’ fear of cheating and confirm the accuracy of all exchanged data. Finally, its conflict resolution mechanisms have permitted it to negotiate settlements to disputes as they arise.

The European Commission and the future of Europe

This article examines the Commission's preferences and preference formation in relation to the Convention and the negotiation of the Constitutional Treaty. Opposing rational choice accounts, which explain Commission action in terms of the tendency of bureaucratic actors to seek to maximize power, status and opportunities, it argues that the Commission is best seen as an internally differentiated arena, from which preferences emerge as a result of complex interactions that entail the use of power, institutionalized myths and routines. It contends that the Commission was an ineffective performer in the debate on the future of Europe. As well as committing tactical and strategic mistakes, the Commission was disadvantaged by the explicitly political nature of the exercise and the opportunity structure of the Convention compared to previous IGCs. A third argument is that the ratification and post-ratification process reveal the current limitations on the Commission's ability to influence debates about the future of the Union. Its historic vocation as the engine of integration implies one course of action, while being cast as part of the problem suggests another.

Co-managing programme implementation: conceptualizing the European Commission's role in policy execution

This article presents a concept aimed towards a better understanding of the European Commission's role during the implementation of European policies. This constitutes a research deficit. While our knowledge about the Commission's ability to set the agenda and to influence decision-making has continuously advanced, we lag behind in understanding the Commission's behaviour in policy implementation. The article proposes a mechanism that explains Commission acting throughout policy execution on the basis of resource interdependencies. It argues that the Commission has an intrinsic motivation to overcome informational asymmetries during policy implementation in order to stabilize its ordinary functions in policy drafting and decision-making. The central theoretical argument is thus based on the vulnerability of the Commission due to its lack of a formal say in national policy execution while it is held responsible for implementation deficiencies by the other European institutions. In order to diminish that dilemma – which occurs especially when European programmes stretch over repetitive policy cycles – the Commission needs what is termed implementation management capacity (IMC).

Sisyphus in the Castle: Improving European Union Strategies for Democracy Promotion and Governance Conditionality

This study sets out to assess the thrust, direction and scope of the current reform of European Community (EC) aid policies, strategies and structures, as it pertains to the efforts of the EC to encourage democracy, strengthen good governance and prevent violent conflict in developing countries. It explores the difficult combination of democracy assistance and governance conditionality to prevent democratic decay in developing countries. It argues that recent reforms have a technocratic bias, as they tend to focus on improving the administrative and managerial dimensions of European foreign aid. Less attention is paid to enhancing its political thrust and devising effective operational strategies. The study assesses the conceptual foundations of the EC's new policies for electoral assistance and conflict prevention and underlines their inadequacy to address the contemporary challenges of democratic governance. The strategic challenges of European foreign aid reside not only in designing efficacious strategies to consolidate democracy and strengthen governance in developing countries, but also in devising the right mix of positive and negative measures to respond to democratic decay and crises of governance. The article concludes with a series of proposals for enhancing the European Commission's ability to manage democracy assistance programmes and governance conditionality.

From the Sidelines to Center Stage: Sidekick No More? The European Commission in Justice and Home Affairs

Cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) - an issue area that includes matters of asylum, immigration, police and judicial cooperation - is a relatively new policy arena for the European Union. The level and quality of the collective thinking on these issues have improved since the mid-1980s. JHA cooperation was formally endorsed in Maastricht and revisited during the 1996 IGC, resulting in new institutional frameworks within which discussions now occur. Throughout this period, the European Commission has seen its involvement in the decision-making enhanced. Its efforts as an actor began with a humble Task Force with which the Commission attempted to steer EU's policies on asylum and immigration, as well as police and judicial cooperation. After Amsterdam, and particularly as a result of the Commission's restructuring following the resignation of the Santer Commission, the Commission's institutional capacities as well as its charge vis-a-vis the treaties has changed quite remarkably. This paper reviews the Commission's role in JHA as an institutional actor and will evaluate its agency and emerging autonomy in these fields. It argues that the Commission has a stronger constitutional and institutional basis from which to work, bolstered by the increased propensity by member states to delegate to the Commission and enhanced by the creation of the Directorate General for Justice and Home Affairs. While improvements in the Commission's position vis-a-vis the immediate aftermath of Maastricht are visible, challenges remain nonetheless which constrain the Commission's ability to act as a competence-maximizing institution with formal agenda-setting powers.

A Former Sentencing Commissioner Looks Forward

Research Article| September 01 1999 A Former Sentencing Commissioner Looks Forward Michael Goldsmith Michael Goldsmith Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Federal Sentencing Reporter (1999) 12 (2): 98–100. https://doi.org/10.2307/20640233 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Michael Goldsmith; A Former Sentencing Commissioner Looks Forward. Federal Sentencing Reporter 1 September 1999; 12 (2): 98–100. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/20640233 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentFederal Sentencing Reporter Search This content is only available via PDF. Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The Commission as image-venue entrepreneur in EU social policy

The Commission is a strategically sophisticated bureaucracy with the ability to expand its role and influence policy outcomes by acting as an image-venue entrepreneur. In difficult economic and political conditions, the Commission's recent strategic approach to the development of European Union (EU) social policy has been characterized by a dual approach. On the one hand, it has experimented with new institutional arrangements in order to build up a policy-making framework that lessens the influence of member governments. The development of the Social Dialogue and, to a lesser extent, a Civic Dialogue has been particularly important in this respect. On the other hand, the Commission has been reshaping the dominant 'image' of EU social policy from one based on social rights to an alternative which emphasizes that social policy contributes to stable economic growth and job creation. Its strategic ability to understand the way in which policy images and institutional venues interact affects the Commission's ability to develop and expand EU policy.

Commission activism: subsuming telecommunications and electricity under European competition law

ABSTRACT Under European competition law the Commission has far-reaching competences. The article asks about the conditions under which the Commission may use these rights against the member states, focusing on the most powerful provision—the right of the Commission under Article 90 to issue directives by itself in those cases where member state governments have endowed undertakings with rights conflicting with the Treaty's rules. In European telecommunications policy the Commission has used this competence very successfully, with all liberalization directives being based on Article 90. But for European electricity policy the Commission has shrunk away from using these powers in favour of initiating Council legislation. The article analyses the conditions of the Commission's ability to act under European competition law in a multi-level framework, drawing on a principal-agent approach. It presents Article 90 as an example of governments regaining control over their agent.

Public perception of the Ombudsman

The Ombudsman Commission's ability in getting results again reinforces the public's confidence in the Ombudsman office and what it stands for - standing up for the rights of individuals who would otherwise be ignored by the powers that be.

The European commission as a multi‐organization: Social policy and IT policy in the EU

Abstract The underlying theme of this article is that to understand the process of European integration, it is vital to understand the dynamics of the European policy‐making process and the crucial role of the European institutions within this process. In this article the internal dynamics of the policy‐making process within the European Commission in two directorates (DG V [Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs] and DG XIII [Telecommunications, Information Industries and Innovation]) are explored. It is argued that a vital characteristic of the Commission's ability to influence any policy sector is its ability to respond rapidly to any ‘windows of opportunity’, ripe for EU intervention, or indeed to facilitate the appearance of these windows. Yet, the means required to achieve this end, and the degree of success met, vary from sector to sector. If it is accepted that the Commission has an important role to play in EU policy‐making, and ultimately in the integration process, a better understanding of the functioning of its constituent parts, of the interrelationships between them, and of the influence of their activities upon the actions of the Commission as a whole, is vital.