Jens Blom-Hansen - Böcker

Every year the EU Commission issues thousands of rules based on powers delegated by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. But delegation is carefully controlled. Traditionally, control has been exerted through a system of committees of member state representatives ('comitology'). However, this system was contested by the European Parliament which was left without any influence. The Lisbon Treaty introduced a new control regime for delegated powers, the so-called delegated acts system, which was meant to supplement the existing system. The new system involves direct control by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament and thus for the first time gave the European Parliament real influence over delegated powers. However, the choice over which delegation regime to use in practice has turned into one of the most vehement institutional conflicts in the EU political system. This book represents the first comprehensive investigation of this conflict. It does so by a combination of methods and data, including process-tracing of the introduction of the new system in the Lisbon Treaty, case studies of selected post-Lisbon delegation situations, and statistical analysis of datasets comprising hundreds of post-Lisbon legislative files.

The European Commission is at the heart of EU policymaking. However, over the past 15-20 years, its position has been challenged due to the growing influence of the European Council, the increased powers of the European Parliament, and the introduction of European agencies. This has led some observers to believe that the Commission's role and influence are diminishing. However, other observers argue that the Commission remains a highly significant institution. Policy Preparation Inside the European Commission qualifies this debate. It argues that the key to understanding the Commission's position is its right of initiative in the EU policy process. The book demonstrates how the Commission has turned the right of initiative into a formidable political weapon. The authors support this point with a long list of creative studies of how the Commission prepares its policy proposals. Some studies focus on internal coordination inside the Commission, a first challenge for the Commission to overcome because, upon closer inspection, it is a highly fragmented institution split into approximately 50 administrative units. Other studies focus on how the Commission strategically interacts with actors in its environment - the member states, the European Parliament, and interest groups - to explore and expand its political room for manoeuvre. The core result is that the Commission is still a powerful and proactive player in EU politics.

EU law consists of several thousand acts of which the overwhelming majority are made by the Commission. The Commission is controlled by comitology, a system of committees of member state representatives that are consulted when new acts are proposed. This book looks at why the system was created, how it functions and how it has evolved.