The EU as catalytic state? Rethinking European climate and energy governance

Gouvernement Économique, but Not Like in the 1990s: The Commission and the ECB's Policies Advancing the ‘Green Transition’

“…The interplay of functional, cultivated and political spillovers, driven especially by the Franco‐German backing of more pro‐EU industrial policy positions since 2016, explains the timing of the rise of this more ambitious and far‐reaching EU industrial policy (Di Carlo and Schmitz 2023). Nevertheless, the nature of the policy area and related externalities explain why some areas, such as ‘clean’ energy production, have advanced faster than others (Di Carlo and Schmitz 2023; Prontera and Quitzow 2022).…”

NGEU and Vaccines Strategy in the Wake of the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Outgrowing the Regulatory State

“…The limits of the EU as a regulatory state has been indicated previously (Caporaso et al ., 2014 ; Schelkle, 2009 ), but this has become even more apparent with the response to the COVID‐19 pandemic. We find, on the other hand, that the concept of ‘catalytic state’ (Prontera and Quitzow, 2022 ), or ‘entrepreneurial state’ (as defined by Mazzucato, 2015 ) could be more promising. Whereas the regulatory structure of the EU has consolidated over the decades, and it is also present in the governance of RRF, we observe that an additional layer of distributive, redistributive and ‘entrepreneurial’ (Mazzucato, 2015 ) or ‘catalytic’ (Prontera and Quitzow, 2022 ) measures adopted by the EU during the COVID‐19 crisis, indicate a common direction of economic stimulus, institutional reforms, and nudging of national government as well as of private companies.…”

“…We find, on the other hand, that the concept of ‘catalytic state’ (Prontera and Quitzow, 2022 ), or ‘entrepreneurial state’ (as defined by Mazzucato, 2015 ) could be more promising. Whereas the regulatory structure of the EU has consolidated over the decades, and it is also present in the governance of RRF, we observe that an additional layer of distributive, redistributive and ‘entrepreneurial’ (Mazzucato, 2015 ) or ‘catalytic’ (Prontera and Quitzow, 2022 ) measures adopted by the EU during the COVID‐19 crisis, indicate a common direction of economic stimulus, institutional reforms, and nudging of national government as well as of private companies. Thus, the European Green Deal and social investment policy appear to be important outputs of the NGEU plans thus far, which would not have been imaginable prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic.…”

Catalytic Power Europe: Blended Finance in European External Action

“…Blending refers to a collaborative approach to financing based on the combination of grant-based components with loans or equity from other public and/or private sources. Building on previous work on the EU as a catalytic state (Prontera 2019;Prontera and Quitzow 2022), we argue that blended finance exemplifies efforts by the EU to overcome its constraints as an actor in international affairs and exert 'catalytic power' in its foreign engagements. Catalytic power resonates with the concept of 'collaborative power' and related notions of network diplomacy (Slaughter 2009(Slaughter , 2011(Slaughter , 2017; see also Hocking 1999).…”

“…To achieve this goal, tools are often deployed in combination with each other in a mutually reinforcing manner. They frequently take shape in new, hybridised governance arrangements with the government as a central node within a network of actors (Prontera 2019;Prontera and Quitzow 2022; see also Weiss 2014).…”