13. The European Commission

2020 ◽  
pp. 238-256
Author(s):  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Owen Parker ◽  
Ian Bache ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Charlotte Burns
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Actor ◽  
Member States ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Eu Policies

This chapter examines the European Commission’s functions and structure, along with its role in policy making. The Commission initiates legislation, may act as a mediator, manages some policy areas, is guardian of the Treaties, is a key actor in international relations, and the ‘conscience of the European Union’. The chapter proceeds by discussing the debate on the extent to which the Commission is an autonomous political actor or simply an agent of the member states. Finally, it analyses the increasing challenges faced by the Commission in securing effective implementation of EU policies and its response to concerns over its financial management of EU programmes.

13. The European Commission

2014 ◽  
pp. 231-248
Author(s):  
Ian Bache ◽  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Owen Parker
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Actor ◽  
Member States ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Eu Policies

This chapter examines the European Commission’s functions and structure, along with its role in policy making. The Commission initiates legislation, may act as a mediator, manages some policy areas, is guardian of the Treaties, is a key actor in international relations, and the ‘conscience of the European Union’. The chapter proceeds by discussing the debate on the extent to which the Commission is an autonomous political actor or simply an agent of the member states. Finally, it analyses the increasing challenges faced by the Commission in securing effective implementation of EU policies and its response to concerns over its financial management of EU programmes.

scholarly journals The EU after Brexit: Key Geopolitical and Geo-Economic Challenges

2020 ◽  
pp. 30-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr YAKOVLEV
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
European Council ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Union History ◽  
The Eu

The decision on Britain’s secession from the European Union, taken by the British Parliament and agreed by London and Brussels, divided the Union history into “before” and “after”. Not only will the remaining member states have to “digest” the political, commercial, economic and mental consequences of parting with one of the largest partners. They will also have to create a substantially new algorithm for the functioning of United Europe. On this path, the EU is confronted with many geopolitical and geo-economic challenges, which should be answered by the new leaders of the European Commission, European Council, and European Parliament.

1. An Overview

2020 ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
Mark A. Pollack ◽  
Christilla Roederer-Rynning ◽  
Alasdair R. Young
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Ongoing Experiment

The European Union represents a remarkable, ongoing experiment in the collective governance of a multinational continent of nearly 450 million citizens and 27 member states. The key aim of this volume is to understand the processes that produce EU policies: that is, the decisions (or non-decisions) by EU public authorities facing choices between alternative courses of public action. We do not advance any single theory of EU policy-making, although we do draw extensively on theories of European integration, international cooperation, comparative politics, and contemporary governance; and we identify five ‘policy modes’ operating across the 15 case study chapters in the volume. This chapter introduces the volume by summarizing our collective approach to understanding policy-making in the EU, identifying the significant developments that have impacted EU policy-making since the seventh edition of this volume, and previewing the case studies and their central findings.

Právně ekonomické aspekty kritéria právního státu jako podmínky pro přidělení prostředků z rozpočtu EU

2021 ◽  
pp. 126-143
Author(s):  
Tereza Čejková
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Financial Framework ◽  
The Impact

After expressing concerns about the state of democracy and civil rights in Poland and Germany in recent years, the European Commission proposed to implement the so-called rule of law condition in the 2021–2027 multiannual financial framework scheme, under which EU budget funding would not be allocated to those Member States which do not comply with the condition. This work will examine the financial and legal aspects of this condition and assess the impact of its application on the economy of the European Union.

1. International Relations and the European Union

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Hill ◽  
Michael Smith ◽  
Sophie Vanhoonacker
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Defence Policy ◽  
Foreign And Security Policy ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The Eu

This edition examines the contexts in which the European Union has reflected and affected major forces and changes in international relations (IR) by drawing on concepts such as balance of power, multipolarity, multilateralism, interdependence, and globalization. It explores the nature of policymaking in the EU's international relations and the ways in which EU policies are pursued within the international arena. Topics include the EU's role in the global political economy, how the EU has developed an environmental policy, and how it has attempted to graft a common defence policy onto its generalized foreign and security policy. This chapter discusses the volume's methodological assumptions and considers three perspectives on IR and the EU: the EU as a subsystem of IR, the EU and the processes of IR, and the EU as a power in IR. It also provides an overview of the chapters that follow.

Developments in the Collection of Statistical Information on the Number of Animals used in Experiments and other Scientific Purposes in the European Union

2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-145
Author(s):  
Ursula G. Sauer ◽  
Roman Kolar
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Statistical Report ◽  
Animal Use ◽  
The Three Rs ◽  
The Eu

In 1999, the European Commission presented its second report on the numbers of laboratory animals used in the European Union (EU). The plausibility of the data and the usefulness of the format of the registration tables remain questionable, for reasons previously discussed in connection with the Commission's first statistical report. In addition, it is impossible to derive sound information on trends in animal use in the EU and its Member States from the second statistical report. The European Commission and the Member States have agreed on new tables to be used for future statistics on the use of experimental animals in the EU. These new tables have been significantly extended and improved. Several categories of little relevance have been revised, and ambiguous expressions have been clarified. However, several problems either persist or have been newly created. Moreover, some important data (i.e. categories for pain and distress, as well as for several specific purposes of use; the origin of some animal species; types of institutions; and the use of genetically engineered animals) are still not required. Nevertheless, these are highly relevant to animal welfare and must be regarded as indispensable for a well-aimed application of the statistics to set priorities concerning the Three Rs.

scholarly journals Economic convergence on different spatial levels: the conflict between cohesion and growth

2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Kramar
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Common Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Conflicting Goals

Abstract The analysis of economic disparities within the European Union strongly depends on the regional level considered. Whereas the economic gap between the member states has decreased over the last decades, regional disparities have rather deepened. The reason for these contradictory findings can be found in the increasing disparities within many of the member states: Especially in growing economies the gap between urban centres and rural peripheries tends to widen. The spatial concentration of research and development, high skilled labour, infrastructure and foreign investment in the capitals will therefore supposably become a big challenge for the accession countries, which will have to face increasing international competition. Joining a common market of more than 450 million people means new opportunities, challenges and threats for economic development, which have to be faced by local, regional and national governments as well as by European institutions. EU-policies act in the dichotomy between the conflicting goals of economic growth and cohesion. Since they strongly influence regional conditions for production it is of great political interest whether a certain measure fosters economic efficiency by favouring the highly developed centres or rather enhances convergence by promoting lagging regions. The answer is, however, not trivial and needs closer examination: Measures encouraging regional cohesion on the European level can also increase disparities within a state or a region at the same time. This is the reason why the regional effects of EU-policies have to be analysed on different spatial levels. Dealing with the spatial impacts of various European Policies (Regional Policy, TransEuropean Networks, Common Agricultural Policy, Research and Technological Development Policy) there is some evidence that these policies try to compensate the effects of growing competition in the common market by concentrating their efforts on urban growth poles within the underdeveloped countries. Doing that, the European Union comes up to the two conflicting goals of growth and cohesion by promoting efficient economic development in the member states on the one hand and regional convergence on the European level on the other. This approach is of course mainly directed at European objectives and brings about new problems for the member states: According to the principle of subsidiarity the growing divergence within the member states is, however, not a policy task of the European Union but of the member states: Therefore national politics are still required to take on responsibility for these intranational problems by adopting their transport, regional and economic policies to the new challenge.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Panke
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Eu Directives ◽  
Council Of Ministers ◽  
Committee Of The Regions

In the European Union (EU), there are two consultative committees, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR). Both, the EESC and the CoR are involved in EU decision-making but lack formal competencies to influence European secondary law directly. Instead of having votes or veto rights concerning EU directives or regulations, the two consultative committees provide recommendations to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. In addition to providing advice to the two EU legislative chambers, the two consultative committees can also approach the European Commission and give input into the drafting of EU policies at the very early stage.

Differentiated Integration and European Union Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Schimmelfennig
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Path Dependence ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Institutional Practice ◽  
European Democracy ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
International Diversity ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Relationship Of

Differentiated integration has become a core feature of the European Union. Whereas in uniform integration, all member states (and only member states) equally participate in all integrated policies, in differentiated integration, member and non-member states participate in EU policies selectively. At its core, differentiated integration is formally codified in EU treaties and legislation. The study of differentiated integration has long remained limited to policy-oriented conceptual debate. “Multi-speed integration,” “core Europe,” and “Europe à la carte” are prominent labels that have resulted from this debate. Theoretical and systematic empirical analysis of differentiated integration is a more recent phenomenon. Demand for differentiated integration is theorized to be rooted in international diversity of country size, wealth, and national identity, which result in heterogeneity of integration preferences, interdependence, and state capacities. In addition, agreement on differentiated integration depends on the size and bargaining power of the insider and outsider groups, the externalities that differentiation produces, and the institutional context in which negotiations take place. Finally, differentiated integration is subject to centrifugal and centripetal dynamics of path dependence and institutional practice. Evaluations of differentiated integration vary between negative assessments based on the principles of legal unity, European democracy, and solidarity and positive assessments based on demoi-cratic standards and the facilitation of integration. More research is needed on the relationship of differentiated integration with other forms of flexibility in the EU, citizen attitudes, and party positions on differentiated integration and the effects of differentiation.

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