The Commission: boxed in and constrained, but still an engine of integration

Becker, Stefan; Bauer, Michael W.; Connolly, Sara; Kassim, Hussein

doi:10.1080/01402382.2016.1181870

Cited by 73 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…It was predominantly the Commission with its (new) President taking initiative on the central level, at least behind the scenes, partially circumventing existing specialised agencies (I1; I3; I6; I7; I8, I11). Over the last decade, the Commission has become more political in several ways, and a kind of 'presidentialisation' can be observed (Becker et al, 2016), harnessing ''focusing' events to prompt decision-making' (Nugent & Rhinard, 2019, p. 206). Arguably, the current crisis reveals the same pattern.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The EU’s reaction in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic between centralisation and decentralisation, formality and informality

Schomaker¹,

Hack²,

Mandry³

2021

Journal of European Public Policy

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The Covid-19 pandemic is a multi-faceted crisis that challenges not only the health systems and other policy sub-systems in the single Member States, but also the European Union's ability to provide policy responses that address the transnational nature of pandemic control as a union-wide 'public good' that affects health and social policies, border control and security as well as topics related to the single market. Thus, the pandemic constitutes a veritable capacity test for the EU integration project.This article attempts to take stock of the Union's early reaction to the first wave of the Covid-19 outbreak. After an introduction and a short note on the scope and methodology of the analysis a theoretical framework is developed. Scrutinising the pertinent literature on crisis management, we reflect the traditional hypothesis that in times of crisis the centre becomes more relevant against the background of the EU crisis management system, and discuss the role of informality in particular during the time of crisis. Against this backdrop, empirical evidence from interviews with EU officials and documents in selected policy fields (health and emergency management, digitalisation, and economic recovery) are analysed, before a discussion and conclusion complete the study.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The EU’s reaction in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic between centralisation and decentralisation, formality and informality

Schomaker¹,

Hack²,

Mandry³

2021

Journal of European Public Policy

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“…We contend that there is evidence that the Commission has an equally important, strategic role to play in determining what this relationship will look like (Smeets & Beach, 2020b; see also Becker et al, 2016;Nugent & Rhinard, 2016). Specifically, the Commission needs to anticipate (beforehand) and make effective use of European Council guidance on a dossier.…”

Section: Theory: New Inter-institutional Dynamics Below the European Councilmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘It takes three to tango’: new inter-institutional dynamics in managing major crisis reform

Smeets

Beach

2021

Journal of European Public Policy

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This paper provides an in-depth reconstruction of the (failed) reform of the EU's Common European Asylum System. Even though this was essentially a legislative process, it was characterized by extensive European Council involvement. In fact, the European Council is commonly blamed for the lack of progress in EU reform. Divisions at the level of the Heads and an insistence on consensus made it impossible for the machine room to proceed with the dossier. We challenge this view, by looking at the interplay between the European Council, Council (of Ministers) and Commission. We argue that the effectiveness of European Council involvement crucially depends on the actions of these two institutions. Involvement of the Heads can propel, paralyze or derail EU decision-making, depending on when and how they are brought into play. The Council and Commission play a crucial role by anticipating, setting the scene for and providing the follow-up to European Council involvement.

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“…Third, the unmistakable process of the 'presidentialisation' of the Commission (Bonjaree 2008;Becker et al, 2016) is leading to a stronger political base from which to exercise broad directional leadership. While a few early Commission Presidents were able to stamp their personal mark on the office through strong personalities and/or favourable circumstances, only in the past twenty years or so has the President gainedthrough sequential treaty revisionsformal and institutional power to become more than simply primus inter pares.…”

Section: Setting the Broad Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the one hand, some observers see the Commission's political roles as having come to be highly compromised in various ways (Bickerton, Hodson, and Puetter 2014;Ponzano, Hermann, and Corona 2012;Schön-Quinlivan 2011). On the other hand, other observers, both in practitioner and academic circles, argue the Commission has become more political than ever (Becker et al 2016;Bauer and Ege 2012;de Marcilly 2014; for a variation of the argument, see Wille 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘political’ roles of the European Commission

Nugent

Rhinard

2019

Journal of European Integration

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The extent to which the European Commission exercises 'political' roles in European integration is very much up for debate. Some recent analyses of the Commission take it for granted that its political roles have been in decline, while others have suggested they have increasedespecially under the current President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, who was appointed in 2014 by a much more politicised process than had been used previously and whose College has sought to present itself as being guided by a political mission and as offering political leadership to the EU. In this article, we aim to show that in the debate about the political roles of the Commission, 'political' has often been poorly defined and operationalised. By drawing on Public Administration scholarship, we offer a framework for analysing how and where in the EU system the Commission's political roles might become manifest. We then assess empirically these roles in different functions the Commission undertakes.

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The Commission: boxed in and constrained, but still an engine of integration

Abstract: In the debate about the impact of the Eurozone crisis on the EU's institutional balance

Cited by 73 publications

References 31 publications

The EU’s reaction in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic between centralisation and decentralisation, formality and informality

The EU’s reaction in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic between centralisation and decentralisation, formality and informality

‘It takes three to tango’: new inter-institutional dynamics in managing major crisis reform

The ‘political’ roles of the European Commission

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