EU Decision-making Process Research Articles

Obligation to State Reasons: Clear Principle with (Still) Unclear Scope? In Search of an Adequate Standard of Reasoning for a Decision Based on Confidential Data (Joined Cases C???584/20 P and C???621/20 P Commission and SRB v Landesbank Baden-Württemberg)

This article provides an analysis of the judgment of the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice (the Court) of 15 July 2021 delivered in Joined Cases C-584/20 P and C-621/20 P (Commission and SRB v Landesbank Baden-W??rttemberg), which offers valuable insights into the question of the scope of the obligation to state reasons. In particular, the judgment clarifies how that obligation should be weighed, if necessary, with the obligation to protect the confidential data within the EU decision-making process. While the judgment specifically pertains to a decision of the Single Resolution Board regarding the calculation of ex-ante contributions to the Single Resolution Fund, its implications extend to all areas of EU law where the EU administration relies on confidential information in order to adopt a decision. Additionally, the judgment holds particular significance for the National Resolution Authorities of the Member States non-participating in the Banking Union, since they are required to calculate ex‐ante contributions to their national resolution financing arrangement and must, for this purpose, rely on the methodology provided by the EU legislator, as interpreted by the Court. Finally, the authors argue that regardless of its significance, the judgment leaves several questions unanswered regarding the adequacy of the reasoning of an administrative decision based on confidential data.

Still a “spectator”? Capabilities of the Spanish REPER and Spain’s influence in the Council of the EU

To what extent is the Spanish Permanent Representation to the EU comparable to other MS in terms of capabilities? What are the indications of Spain’s strengths and weaknesses in EU legislative processes? This article investigates the resources mobilized by Spain as part of the EU policymaking processes in Brussels and its influence in shaping decision outcomes. Drawing on new qualitative and descriptive quantitative data sets, this research compares the human resources of the Spanish Permanent Representation, its internal coordination process, and its external engagement with EU stakeholders, to other member states. The article highlights possible implications of these variations for Spain’s bargaining success in the Council of the EU. The findings reveal the challenges that Spanish negotiators face in exerting influence in the EU decision-making process and show how adequate levels of administrative and human resources are sometimes not sufficient for Spain to leave the group of “spectator” member states in the governance of the EU.

Fostering social persuasion as a source of self-efficacy in negotiating through simulation design

The current study followed the need for more research concerning the understanding of the relationship between simulation design and self-efficacy in negotiating development within role-play simulations of political decision-making. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of social persuasion as a source for self-efficacy in negotiating with simulation design elements. The research was conducted in a three-day simulation about the EU decision-making process. By means of daily diaries and semi-structured interviews, critical incidents about the emergence of social persuasion influencing self-efficacy development were defined. Data were analysed by applying thematic content analysis. Findings show that social persuasion was largely facilitated by the simulation design that offered possibilities for informal contact.

Restore politics in societal debates on new genomic techniques

End of April 2021, the European Commission published its study on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs). The study involved a consultation of Member States and stakeholders. This study reveals a split on whether current legislation should be maintained or adapted to take account of scientific progress and the risk level of NGT products. This split was predictable. New technological developments challenge both ethical viewpoints and regulatory institutions; and contribute to the growing divide between science and society that value ‘technological innovations’ differently. Such controversies are often characterized as ‘unstructured’ because of nearly unbridgeable positions on entangled scientific and value-laden issues. Initiatives for stakeholder involvement, such as consultation or participation, often focus on reaching a ‘shared vision’ without exploring the diverse societal concerns and values behind these positions. To resolve the EU stalemate in NGT regulation, we advocate to bring back politics in the EU decision-making process instead of hiding it under the veil of science, the need for regulatory change and public support. A more productive and justified use of genuine stakeholder participation is possible, if participants and deliberation design meet the criteria of what we call participation ethics. Drawing from our applied experience exploring the ethics of genetic modification, we believe that this approach can lead to more robust political decision-making and restore societal confidence in the governance of contested issues such as NGTs.

Revisiting the informal power resources of member states’ permanent representations to the EU

ABSTRACT This article sheds new light on the power resources of member states at the European level by investigating the role and resources of their permanent representations to the EU. Building on previous research on member states’ influence in the EU decision-making process, this contribution documents variations of permanent representations’ human resources, structure and coordination processes. Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with 87 Council negotiators and EU representatives in Brussels between 2016 and 2020, this article identifies significant divergences in the workforce, role and efficiency of permanent representations, as well as in their level of engagement with other EU institutions. These findings show noticeable asymmetries (both qualitative and quantitative) in the informal capabilities of member states in Brussels and have implications for our understanding of their capacity to formulate and defend political preferences at the European level.

A New Research Agenda: How European Institutions Influence Law-Making in Justice and Home Affairs

The article presents a dataset on the legislative procedure in European Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) and a new method of data processeing. The dataset contains information on 529 procedures proposed between January 1998 and December 2017. For each of the legislative proposals, the dataset identifies the main elements of the legislative procedure (e.g., dates, types of procedure, directory codes and subcodes, actors, voting results, amendments, legal basis, etc.) and the changes introduced at each step of the legislative process from the text proposed by the European Commission to the final version published in the <em>Official Journal of the European Union</em>. This information has been gathered using text mining techniques. The dataset is relevant for a broad range of research questions regarding the EU decision-making process in JHA related to the balance of powers between European institutional actors and their capacity to influence the legislative outputs.

ВНЕШНИЕ СВЯЗИ СУБНАЦИОНАЛЬНОГО УРОВНЯ УНИТАРНЫХ СТРАН КАК ЭЛЕМЕНТ ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ АРХИТЕКТУРЫ

In the second half of the XX century the researches have started to perceive regions both as a level of governance and as actors in the political process (I. Duhachek, M. Keating, etc.). A distinctive feature of the modern period is the active involvement of unitary subnational regions in political activity, which is especially evident in the example of the European Union. The objective of the research is to consider the external relations of the subnational regions of the unitary EU member-states as an element of the political architecture of this integration entity. A systematic and structural-functional approach is used to analyze the reasons for the development of external relations at the subnational level within the framework of integration unification, systematize these relations by groups and consider the degree of their embeddedness in the political architecture. The entire complex of external relations of subnational-level regions is divided into four groups depending on the number and level of actors. The analysis of these reasons, taking into account the groups of external relations, allowed us to confirm the hypothesis that the external relations of subnational regions of unitary countries (both asymmetric and symmetrical) within the EU can be considered as part of the EU political architecture. The embeddedness analysis of these links in the EU decision-making process allowed us to conclude that the external relations of the subnational regions of the unitary EU member-states have become part of the EU political architecture

Two sides of the contemporary system of quasi-legislative acts of the Commission of the European Union

The scientific article is devoted to the issue of complex legal analysis of both advantages and disadvantages of the contemporary system of Commission’s quasi-legislative acts which is composed of implementing and delegated acts. Commission’s implementing and delegated acts play a crucial role in the EU, but the abusive application by the EU legislator of the delegation of quasi-legislative powers to the Commission of the EU cause various negative consequences on the EU legal order. The author outlines the following positive sides of Commission’s quasi-legislative acts: acceleration of the EU decision-making process, adding the EU decision-making process flexibility, improvement of the quality of the EU legislative acts and unloading the overall EU legislature’s workload. Taking into account the latest statistics, the author has proved that the process of the adoption of implementing and delegated acts is in four times faster than ordinary and special legislative procedures. It is emphasized that COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 made the EU urgently enact a bunch of legislative acts that were mainly adopted in the form of Commission’s quasi-legislative acts. The author also points out that the quality of the EU’s legislation has been improved as well as EU’s legislator workload has been greatly reduced because of Commission’s implementing and delegated acts. At the same time, the author specifies that the absence of an explicit legal distinction between Commission’s implementing and delegated acts leads to numerous interinstitutional litigations and disputes and undermines the hierarchy of legal acts under the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty. It is established that an excessive application by the Commission of the EU of the quasi-legislative instruments may breach the principle of institutional balance and may lead to the replacement of the sole EU legislator – the European Parliament and the Council. Eventually, the author argues that the lack of transparence and accountability of the Commission of the EU during the process of adoption of implementing and delegated acts deepen the ‘democratic deficit’ problem within the EU.

The Subsidiarity Principle and National Parliaments Role: From Formal Need to Real Use of Powers

Subsidiarity constitutes a guiding principle of the EU exercising power and the idea of involving national parliaments in the EU legislative procedure was seen as the best solution to increase democracy and transparency of the EU decision-making process at the European Convention established in 2001. Such a mechanism enables national parliaments to ensure the correct application of the principle of subsidiarity by the institutions taking part in the legislative process. This article examines how this principle is implemented by the national parliaments and EU responsible institutions. What is the novelty derived from the Treaty of Lisbon? Do national parliaments participate actively in the implementation of subsidiarity? If yes, what are the tools at their disposal? To answer all of these questions we try to shape a framework for understanding the phenomenon.

National Parliaments and Political Control of EU Competences: A Sufficient Safeguard of Federalism?

It is clear that the formal inclusion of the national parliament as a political actor within the EU decision-making process has been one of the most important innovations of the Lisbon Treaty. Their role, however, remains controversial. It is on the one hand disputed whether national parliaments enjoy sufficient powers to tame ‘competence creep’. On the other hand, it is contested to what extent it is desirable that they should become involved as a legislative actor in the EU’s decision-making procedure. This essay contributes to these debates by critically examining to what extent national parliaments can contribute to the enforcement of the subsidiarity principle. The article contends that national parliaments by having taken a too expansive view of their remit under Protocol No 2 appears to have ‘misunderstood’ their role within the EU- decision making procedure. Notwithstanding this, it is sustained that national parliaments could, in the absence of other trustworthy safeguards of federalism, be seen as a promising avenue for legitimate political control of the exercise of EU competences

Coalition of states for influence in the European Council. Brexit - a step towards decisional balance in the European Council?

Abstract The EU decision-making process is one that has changed over time with the Treaties, with the extension, modification of EU policies and the areas where the EU is acting. In addition to the above, in 2016 we have one more reason to add to the changing of the decisional process “-Brexit”- a political turnaround that stimulates new changes at the decision-making level and raises questions about the future of the European Union. Federalists claim that these events will lead to a strengthening of the Union, and euro-skeptics claim that this is a step towards breaking the Union. Two years after the Brexit started, the European Union continues to remain a prominent actor in the international arena, but another question is being raised: “Will EU institutions act on the same principles? Or will there be changes in the decision-making process?”. In this article, we will analyse the state coalitions in the decision-making process, and the role of Brexit in forming coalitions for establishing a decisional balance in the European Council. Following the analysis of the power rapport in the European Council, we refer to small and medium-sized states that work together closely to counterbalance the decisions of the big states, and the new coalitions to achieve their goals in the new political context.

The energy transition is an excellent opportunity to put people at the heart of the EU decision-making process

The energy transition is an excellent opportunity to put people at the heart of the EU decision-making process

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex beyond Borders - the Effect of the Agency's External Dimension

The recently reformed European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex has since its establishment increasingly cooperated with third countries. It does so through existing working arrangements and joint analytical activity, in order to foster information exchange, carry out risk analyses, and prevent further migration crises. What effect does Frontex’s external dimension in terms of cooperation with non-EU countries have on the EU decision-making process? The paper first traces the empowerment of Frontex over the years, as its tasks and resources have constantly increased. Secondly, in order to investigate different kinds of cooperation, it describes Frontex’s ‘external’ work with non-EU countries. Drawing on the tradition of historical institutionalism, three explanatory factors are presented for demonstrating the agency’s effect on decision-making: external crises leading to growing security concerns; a consequent increased delegation of authority to Frontex (agency empowerment); and growing regional cooperation. By looking at the Western Balkans case and at the relation between the agency and the European Commission, this study argues that Frontex’s work beyond borders affects the decision-making and consequently the policy-making of the EU. The expanded remit, increasing financial as well as staff capabilities of the agency, and reoccurring crises show that Frontex is no longer an implementing, executive instrument as the existing literature claims, but has evolved to be an influential actor in its own right.

Openness, Transparency and the Right of Access to Documents in the EU. In-Depth Analysis

Upon request of the PETI Committee, the Policy Department on Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs commissioned the present analysis, which examines the situation in relation to openness, transparency, access to documents and information in the EU. Case law and developments in the jurisprudence of the CJEU are examined, notably for legislative documents, documents relating to administrative proceedings, to Court proceedings, infringement proceedings and EU Pilot cases, protection of privacy and international relations. Current and future challenges, as well as conclusions and policy recommendations are set out, in order to ensure compliance with the Treaties’ and Charter of Fundamental Rights’ requirements aimed at enhancing citizens’ participation in the EU decision-making process, and consequently stronger accountability and democracy in the EU.

Complementing Traditional Diplomacy: Regional and Local Authorities Going International

Regional and local authorities already promote their own policies and actions in the international arena for humanitarian, political, commercial, cultural and institutional reasons. From cross-border to decentralised cooperation, under the concept of City diplomacy, local authorities often move independently and actively, both in the international arena and in the EU's decision-making processes. They act during conflicts, providing peace-building and dialogue opportunities, and take action in post-conflict regions or regions in need. This form of diplomacy complements traditional diplomacy and is mostly activated when the latter is frozen or required to remain low profile for contingent, political reasons. These new actors, with strong devolved powers at home and strong political leadership, deserve more attention from international players such as the European Commission and some of the United Nations’ agencies. The current scheme of international cooperation is overly rigid. There is a need for more flexibility so that support—including financial support—can be better targeted to meet specific needs. This could lead to regional and local actors becoming direct recipients of international financial support for planning and running decentralised or bottom-up forms of cooperation, partnership and political dialogue.

The imperfect agenda-setter: Why do legislative proposals fail in the EU decision-making process?

This article analyzes how uncertainty about the location of the pivotal actor influences the outcome of Commission proposals. We argue that the Commission is an imperfect agenda-setter and expect that Commission proposals are more likely to fail when uncertainty increases in the bicameral legislature of the Council and the European Parliament. Considering all legislative acts decided under the co-decision procedure proposed in the period from November 1993 until December 2009, we focus on withdrawal of Commission proposals as failures. In the empirical analysis we distinguish between electoral and procedural uncertainty and provide evidence that both types of uncertainty explain withdrawal of Commission proposals.

Energy and climate policy: does the competitiveness narrative prevail in times of crisis?

There is little research on how the economic crisis has affected the EU’s climate and energy policies. Addressing this research gap, this article argues that the economic crisis has not fundamentally changed the broad trajectory of EU energy and climate policy. Broad policy objectives and the preferences of EU member states have remained stable. However, within these broad parameters the main impact of the economic crisis has been on the EU energy and climate discourse that, in turn, has influenced the EU decision-making process and policy outcome in two ways, both of which have led to a certain decline of ambition in EU climate policy. First, it has changed the hierarchy of priorities of EU policy-makers to paying more attention to economic problems rather than climate change, renewables or energy efficiency. Secondly, the crisis has strengthened the concerns of cost implications of climate measures. While both developments impede an ambitious climate policy, we also found evidence that measures which are designed to stimulate economic recovery may also facilitate policy reform and further integration in the field.

Overcoming the crisis in the European integration process through changes in regulations concerning the participation of EUcitizens in making and implementing decisions

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of citizen participation-enabling mechanisms in the EU decision-making process on the legitimacy of the Union. The inquiry measures and categorises participation in the EU, utilising the analytic instruments developed in existing theoretical approaches. The research problem is the evaluation of conditions created in the EU for active participation in the public life for their potential of overcoming the crisis in the European integration process. The aim of the study has been accomplished in two stages. First, the legislative process in the EU has been presented, with law-making and implementation phases distinguished. Second, the different kinds of participation in the EU have been categorised and their intensity described. The categorisation is adapted from the distinction made by W. Tegtmeier. The author is testing the hypothesis that the multitude of modes of engaging citizens in the decision making process in the EU confirms the Union’s legitimacy. She concludes that citizen participation in the decision-making at the EU level could potentially positively contribute to the process of overcoming the crisis of democracy in the EU.

Coalition Formation in the EU Decision-Making Process after the Enlargement

The enlargement of he European Union was expected to increase the effect of national inequalities within the supranational decisional system and significantly difficult the resolution of problems of policy coordination. However, the decision-making process of the EU has shown a remarkable flexibility and capacity of adaptation in the face of the entrance of new members. In this paper, I theorize how coalition formation in the Council of Ministers contributes to this flexibility in the issue area of environmental policy. Using an extension of the Banzhaf Power Index, I explain how coalition formation incorporates the preference variations infused by new member states through the combination of re-weighted voting power and a strategic process of bilateral exchanges between coalitions and selectively targeted member states. The analysis is completed with a procedural model, which takes into account the influence of the EP in the legislative process. Without imposing unanimity, the configuration of a decisive coalition under QMV requires an attention to particularized interests. In contrast with propositions based on axiomatic models of bargaining, I argue that the focus on the power-based coalition formation can better explain outcomes of effective differentiated adaptation to the Eastern enlargement.

Governance and European civil society: governmentality, discourse and NGOs

This book provides a critical analysis of the European Union’s approach to ‘governance’, focusing on the way in which civil society is incorporated within the EU decision-making process and arguing that it is not conducive to the democratisation of EU governance. Using a governmentality approach, Kutay demonstrates that civic actors are not incorporated into EU decision-making processes as they are; rather, they are formed, manipulated and guided by political programming. The author explains how this acts to prescribe and construct particular types of subjectivities, thereby limiting and constraining the types of participation that might emerge as part of European civil society and the process of political participation. Governance and European Civil Society will be of interest to students and scholars of European Union politics, global governance, civil society and democracy, Central and East European studies and political and international theory.