scholarly journals (Never)mind the Evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-224
Author(s):  
Goranka Lalić Novak ◽  
Teo Giljević ◽  
Romea Manojlović Toman
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
Public Consultations ◽  
Migration Law ◽  
Law Making ◽  
The Eu

The aim of the paper is to analyse the extent to which the recent Croatian regulation on migration (legislation and policy documents) is grounded on evidence and builds on empirical data drawn from the processes and draft legislation, public consultations, impact assessment, parliamentary discussions, parliamentary questions of members of Parliament, and evaluation reports. In this way, the paper also provides a deeper insight into the development of migration regulation, from agenda-setting to the adoption of regulation. Research has enabled the authors to discuss the possibilities to improve migration law-making by means of evidence-based law-making techniques and other better regulation instruments. Several conclusions have been made: that evidence-based law-making is useful in complex issues such as migration; that evidence should be primarily used in the legislative process at the EU level in the areas that fall under the EU competences; that evidence is most beneficial in the early, preparatory phases of law-making; that it is necessary to connect the assessment of the relevance and adequacy of empirical data used and their linkage to the effectiveness of migration legislation. The use of better regulation instruments in developing migration regulation might contribute to more transparency and accountability, as well as to the reduction of arbitrary use of power by public authorities, and thus foster the standards and principles of the rule of law.

National Parliaments in Subsidiarity Review: From Guardians to Partners

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-299
Author(s):  
Oxana Pimenova
Keyword(s):  
Legislative Process ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Green Card ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
Legislative Proposals ◽  
Subsidiarity Principle ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Political Value ◽  
Law Making ◽  
The Eu

Abstract With a clear emphasis on substantive political value that national legislatures are able to bring to the EU legislative process, this paper attempts to overcome skepticism about deepening national parliaments’ direct involvement in the decision-making process at the European level. The role of national parliaments in advancing their subsidiarity concerns within European law-making may be strengthened through a more intensive political dialogue with the Commission, when the former acts not just as the ‘guardians’ of the subsidiarity principle (in the framework of the existing yellow and orange card schemes) but also as active contributors to the law-making process encouraging the Commission to leverage the so-called green card procedure. Complemented by the yellow and orange card provisions, it forms a three-element subsidiarity review mechanism perfectly capable of dealing with subsidiarity concerns of national parliaments at various stages of the EU law-making process, thus transforming the chambers from wardens into partners working together with the Commission to reshape EU legislative proposals for the sake of better regulation.

scholarly journals Uses and Potential Abuses of “Negative Claims” in the EU: The Urgent Need for Better Regulation

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Carreño ◽  
Paolo Vergano
Keyword(s):  
Palm Oil ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Gluten Free ◽  
Member States ◽  
Nutrition Claims ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
Additional Costs ◽  
The Eu

“Negative claims” can be defined as claims indicating that certain ingredients, nutrients or substances are not present in a foodstuff. Legitimate uses of regulated negative claims in the EU include some nutrition claims and “gluten-free” claims. Some EU Member States have legislated on “GM-free” claims. The article describes in more detail some cases (i.e., BPA-free, MSG-free, Aspartame-free and palm oil-free), where negative claims are used with an implied message that whatever is used instead of the often “demonised” substance is safer, healthier or greener. The article argues that EU and EU Member States’ legislators and regulators should ensure that consumers are not misled by astute marketing techniques that have no informative agendas, but simply aim at denigrating certain products in order to promote “free-from” products. This issue is particularly timely and important given the imminent application of the EU's Food Information Regulation and the additional costs that it will impose on the industry in the name of providing complete, reliable and evidence-based information to consumers.

What the United States Can Learn from the European Commission's Better Regulation Initiative

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-381
Author(s):  
James Broughel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Regulatory Reform ◽  
The United States ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
The Eu

In May of 2015, the European Commission released a package outlining the vision for its Better Regulation initiative, a program aimed at improving outcomes of European Union (EU) regulation. The move represents a step forward for regulatory reform in the EU, and signals a potential shift in world leadership roles among countries promoting evidence-based policy. The United States (US), once at the forefront of regulatory science and analysis, may now be lagging behind. If Better Regulation is implemented as its ambitious designers envision, this could signal a new role for the EU in advancing 21st century policymaking.Better Regulation seeks to improve the EU regulatory process in several ways. The initiative allows for more meaningful citizen and stakeholder participation at all stages of the policymaking process; it seeks to institutionalize the use of economic analysis throughout the lifecycle of a policy; and it sets up a process for reviewing the existing stock of regulations to ensure old rules do not become excessively burdensome or obsolete. All this is done in a manner intended to inform legislators as they periodically review funding levels for new and existing programs.

scholarly journals Evolution of Decision Making in the European Union as a Parameter of the Depth of Integration

2020 ◽  
pp. 77-88
Author(s):  
Nikolay Kaveshnikov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
Significant Part ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Working Hypotheses ◽  
The Eu

The article explores the evolution of decision-making procedures and their use in the EU as one of the parameters of integration depth. The study used a database of secondary legislation covering 1990-2019. The final empirical data consists of 5,427 documents, including 1,272 directives and 4,155 regulations. The research empirically confirmed the increase in the frequency of procedures application that envisage a more active participation of the European Parliament in the legislative process. At the same time, the authorreveals that a significant part of secondary legislation is still adopted by the Council without the EPinvolvement. An important difference in the use of adaptation procedures of directives and regulations has been identified; working hypotheses about the reasons for such differences have been formulated.

scholarly journals Institualization of referendum in EU countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 445-452
Author(s):  
Stoyko O. М.
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
New Members ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Eu

The evolution of the referendum institutionalization in the constitutions of the EU states is considered. The peculiarities of its initiation, realization and implementation of results in the "old" and "new" members of the Union are highlighted and analyzed. It is concluded that young democracies are pioneering in using this tool of direct democracy both to legitimize government decisions and to involve citizens in the decision-making process. The history of the introduction of plebiscites into the practice of political processes in European countries shows, that they are closely linked to democratic transit: the later the constitution is adopted, the more opportunities for citizens to use referendums not only to control the legislative process in parliament (support or veto certain decisions, draft laws), but also to formulate an agenda - to propose their own initiatives for consideration by public authorities. Accordingly, there are obvious differences between the referendum practices of the "old" and "new" members of the European Union, since the latter are much more active in using them and give citizens real leverage on public policy by holding plebiscites on popular initiatives.

scholarly journals In the Shadow of Public Opinion: The European Parliament, Civil Society Organizations, and the Politicization of Trilogues

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Greenwood ◽  
Christilla Roederer-Rynning
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Ideal Types ◽  
Informal Institution ◽  
Preliminary Examination ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Law Making ◽  
The Eu

This article examines the relations between the European Parliament (EP) and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the EU’s legislative process. It focuses specifically on legislative trilogues, an informal institution bringing together the representatives of the EP, Council, and Commission in a secluded setting to conclude legislative agreements. Trilogues have become the modus operandi and an absolutely pivotal part of the EU law-making process: they are where the deals are made. While secluded decision-making offers plenty of opportunities for EU institutions to depoliticize law-making, we argue that trilogues have become politicized, partly from the relationship between the EP and CSOs. We flesh out this argument on the basis of insights from the politicization and the historical institutionalist literatures, advance two ideal types of trilogue politics, and explore these types on the basis of a preliminary examination of a comprehensive interview material.

scholarly journals Return to De Capitani: The EU Legislative Process between Transparency and Effectiveness

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 296-299
Author(s):  
Emanuele Rebasti
Keyword(s):  
Legislative Process ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Law Making ◽  
The Eu

<p>Three years after the judgment of the General Court in the <em>De Capitani</em> case, we assess whether the findings of the Court have settled for good the debate between transparency and effectiveness in EU law-making or rather opened new reflections on legislative transparency in the EU.</p>

scholarly journals Tokenizing and Articulating Protection of Women in Migration Law: Strategies of Exclusion in Contemporary Europe and the Nineteenth-Century USA

2021 ◽  
pp. 096466392110238
Author(s):  
Nicole Stybnarova
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Family Reunification ◽  
Migrant Women ◽  
Feminist Scholarship ◽  
Female Migrants ◽  
The Social ◽  
Women's Equality ◽  
Migration Law ◽  
Law Making ◽  
The Eu

This article investigates continuities in migration law-making that claims to aim at protecting women but in effect is a tokenist strategy excluding non-Western female migrants. It shows that despite developments in the legal recognition of women’s equality, present restrictions on family reunification in Western Europe, illustrated through the EU and Danish migration laws, echo law-making in the late 19th-century US, exemplified in the process of adopting the Page Act, which also introduced stricter rules for female migrants under the stated objective of protecting women. Using the social theory of articulation, the article demonstrates how legislators continuously articulate and rearticulate the wellbeing of migrant women to legitimize discriminatory migration rules regardless of how highly women’s rights are respected in law and society. The article contributes to previous feminist scholarship in migration law by showing the continuity and intentionality of the articulative practices in law-making directed at migrant women.

3. Transfer of powers, competences, and law-making

2020 ◽  
pp. 67-99
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Law ◽  
Council Of Ministers ◽  
Law Making ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the division of competence and the transfer of powers from member states to the European Union (EU) in relation to the law-making process. It explains that the transfer of powers is designed to provide EU institutions with law-making powers to enable the EU to carry out its duties. The chapter highlights shifting dynamics in the policy-making procedures of the EU, particularly the balance between the legitimacy of the European Parliament and the legislative superiority of the Council of Ministers. It also discusses the participation of the institutions in the legislative process and the law-making principles and procedures.

3. Transfer of powers, competences, and law-making

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Law ◽  
Council Of Ministers ◽  
Law Making ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the division of competence and the transfer of powers from member states to the European Union (EU) in relation to the law-making process. It explains that the transfer of powers is designed to provide EU institutions with law-making powers to enable the EU to carry out its duties. The chapter highlights shifting dynamics in the policy-making procedures of the EU, particularly the balance between the legitimacy of the European Parliament and the legislative superiority of the Council of Ministers. It also discusses the participation of the institutions in the legislative process and the law-making principles and procedures.

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