DSPO 27A37 - The European Union in Action: Its Institutional Dynamics and the Case of the European Commission

What are the European Union (EU) institutions ? What do they do ? What is the role of the European Commission ? This seminar will introduce students to the fundamentals of the EU institutional set-up and policy making and will focus on the European Commission as one of the engines of the EU system of governance. In an introductory part, we will review the historical developments of the EU and their impacts on the institutional set-up as well as the fundamental principles of EU law and policies. Then, we will zoom on the European Commission and explore its roles. The purpose will be to understand the very diverse mix of rules, practice and challenges that shapes the European Commission's action and its relations with its stakeholders, whether institutional or not. In a third part, emphasis will be on the scrutiny mechanisms that oversee the Commission's action, their evolving nature, and the challenges in times of crises and deep evolution of European societies.

Isabelle GARZON

Séminaire

English

Spring 2022-2023

Evaluation of students will consist of: - Class participation (10%). Active participation is essential to student's intellectual fulfilment and to the success of the learning process. - One oral intervention (45%) in the form of a presentation, debate, negotiation simulation etc (individual or by group of students) illustrating the topic of the day. - One final written document (45%) in the form of a policy brief, briefing for a high ranking official, newspaper article etc illustrating the topics of the successive sessions that took place over the semester.

Plan des séances (12) : Part I - INTRODUCTION Seminar 1 – OVERVIEW OF THE EU CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER A short history of European integration A brief account of theories of European integration Basic principles of EU law – Competences, relation with national law, general principles, fundamental rights, European citizenship Decision making - Legal acts of the EU, legislative procedures Required reading: Paul Craig, “Development of the European Union” in Barnard and Peers, op. cit. Kiaran Bradley, “Legislating in the European Union” in Barnard and Peers, op. cit. Michael Bobek, “The effects of EU law in the national legal systems” in Barnard and Peers, op. cit. Optional reading: R. Schütze, “Constitutionalism and the European Union” in Barnard and Peers, op. cit. B. de Witte, “EU law: is it international law ?” in Barnard and Peers, op. cit. H. Hoffman, “General principles of EU law and EU administrative law” in Barnard and Peers, op. cit. E. Sparenta, “Fundamental rights in European Union law” in Barnard and Peers, op. cit. Seminar 2 – THE EU INSTITUTIONS AT A GLANCE A brief account of theories of EU institutions European Council The institutional triangle (Council of the European Union, European Parliament, European Commission) – how EU law is made Court of justice The institutions of the Economic and Monetary Union Other organs Required reading: Renaud Dehousse and Paul Magnette, “The history of EU institutions: six decades of institutional changes” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Philippe de Schoutheete, “The European Council: A Formidable Locus of Power” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Fiona Hayes-Renshaw, “The Council of Ministers: Conflict, Consensus, and Continuity” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Michael Shackleton, “The European Parliament: The Power of Democratic Ideas” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Niamh Nic Shuibhne, “The Court of Justice: European Integration and Judicial Institutions” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Dermot Hodson, “The European Central Bank: New Powers and New Institutional Theories” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Optional reading: Nicolas Levrat, “The institutional structure of the European Union after the Lisbon Treaty” in Norman Witzleb, Alfonso Martinez Arranz and Pascaline Winand( ed.), The European Union and global engagement – Institutions, Policies, Challenges, 2015, Edward Elgar Publishing Mark Pollack, “Theorizing EU policy making” in Wallace et al., op.cit. Jeffrey Lewis, “Coreper: National Interests and the Logic of Appropriateness” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Seminar 3 – EU POLICIES AND POLICY MODES A brief overview of EU policies The different policy modes Required reading: Helen Wallace and Christine Reh, “An institutional anatomy and five policy modes” in Wallace et al., op.cit. Dermot Hodson, “Policy-making under Economic and Monetary Union” in Wallace et al., op.cit. Optional reading: Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, “Broadening horizons ? The area of freedom, security and justice” in Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, EU Constitutional law – An introduction, Hart, 2018 Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, “The Internal market: liberal, social or green”, in Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, op. cit. Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, “Building a house by starting with the roof ? Economic and monetary policy”, in Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, op. cit. Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, “EU external action: an elephant trumpeting loud and clear or a gaggle of geese ?”, in Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, op. cit. Part II – THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND ITS THE ROLES Seminar 4 – THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, A UNIQUE INSTITUTION History Appointment and composition Presidency The college of Commissioners The Commission services Required reading: Neil Nugent and Mark Rhinard, Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 in Neill Nugent and Mark Rhinard, op.cit. John Peterson, “The College of Commissioners: Supranational Leadership and Presidential Politics” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Liesbet Hooghe and Christian Rauh, “The Commission's Services: A Powerful Permanent Bureaucracy” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Optional reading: Hussein Kassim (ed.), “Conclusion: The Commission of the twenty-first century – What kind of administration ?” in Hussein Kassim (ed.), The Commission of the Twenty-First Century, Oxford University Press, 2013 Seminar 5 - PROPOSING The question of leadership in the EU Strategic planning and programming - From annual work programmes to the speech on the state of the Union Preparing legislative proposals (evaluation, consultation, impact assessment) – The “better regulation” agenda The co-decision process – Role of the European Commission Required reading: Neil Nugent and Mark Rhinard, Chapter 9 and 10, in Neill Nugent and Mark Rhinard, op.cit. Claire A. Dunlop and Claudio Radaelli, “If evaluation is the solution, what is the problem ?”, in Nikolaos Zahariadis and Laurie Buoanno (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of European Public Policy, Routledge, 2017 Petya Alexandrova and Marcello Carammia, “Agenda Setting in the European Union”, in Nikolaos Zahariadis and Laurie Buoanno (ed.), op. cit. Mark Rhinard, “Strategic Framing and the European Commission”, in Nikolaos Zahariadis and Laurie Buoanno (ed.), op. cit. European Commission, Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Better regulation for better results - An EU agenda, COM/2015/0215 final, 19 May 2015 European Commission, Better regulation guidelines and principles, https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-making-process/planning-and-proposing-law/better-regulation-why-and-how/better-regulation-guidelines-and-toolbox_en Seminar 6 – IMPLEMENTING Regulatory implementation Budgetary management Enforcement of competition rules The increasing role of European agencies Required reading: Neil Nugent and Mark Rhinard, Chapter 11, in Neill Nugent and Mark Rhinard, op.cit. Stephen Wilks, “Competition policy: Defending the Economic Constitution” in Wallace et al., op.cit. R. Daniel Kelemen and Giandomenico Majone, “European Agencies: Managing Europeanization” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Seminar 7 – CONTROLLING MEMBER STATES The Commission and Member States - Role of Member States, significance of complying with EU law The implementation of policies by Member States – reporting, audits, technical assistance, monitoring, exchange of information The application of EU law – infringement proceedings The case of economic and monetary policy The case of Article 7 of the Treaty Required reading: Neil Nugent and Mark Rhinard, Chapter 8 and 11, in Neill Nugent and Mark Rhinard, op.cit. Gerda Falkner, “Implementation and Enforcement of EU Polices”, in Nikolaos Zahariadis and Laurie Buoanno (ed.), op. cit. Optional reading: European Commission, “Report on Monitoring the application of European Union law” European Commission, “Spring package”, https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/news/EuropeandBeyond/Pages/european-semester-2019-spring-package.aspx Seminar 8 – REPRESENTING THE EU INTERNATIONALLY Negotiation of international treaties – Negotiating guidelines, representation, conclusion Trade policy – Negotiating and managing trade rules Enlargement policy – Assessing accession readiness Development cooperation and humanitarian aid – More than money Foreign and security policy - The Commission and the European External Action Service EU delegations in third countries Required reading: Neil Nugent and Mark Rhinard, Chapter 12, in Neill Nugent and Mark Rhinard, op.cit. Stephen Woolcook, “Trade policy: Policy-making after the Treaty of Lisbon” in Wallace et al., op.cit. Ulrich Sedelmeier, “Enlargement: Constituent policy and tool for external governance” in Wallace et al., op.cit. Bastian Giegerich, “Foreign and Security Policy: Civilian power Europe and American leadership” in Wallace et al., op.cit. PART IV - AN INSTITUTION UNDER SURVEILLANCE Seminar 9 – DEMOCRATIC SCRUTINY The European Parliament and the appointment of the European Commission Parliamentary oversight – Parliamentary questions and debates, implementing acts, budgetary discharge, censure Citizens scrutiny – Petitions National parliaments Required reading: Neil Nugent and Mark Rhinard, Chapters 8 and 11, in Neill Nugent and Mark Rhinard, op.cit. Seminar 10 – TECHNICAL, FINANCIAL AND LEGAL CONTROL Committees of national experts – Technical expertise vs transparency The European Court of Auditors The European Court of Justice The Ombudsman Required reading: Neil Nugent and Mark Rhinard, Chapter 8, in Neill Nugent and Mark Rhinard, op.cit. Brigid Laffan, “The Court of Auditors and OLAF: The Politics of Financial Accountability” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Niamh Nic Shuibhne, “The Court of Justice: European Integration and Judicial Institutions” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, “Covenants of no strengths to secure a man at all ? Issues of enforcement and control”, in Allan Rosas and Lorna Armati, op. cit. Seminar 11 – PUBLIC SCRUTINY Relations with non-governmental interests – Lobbying, role of civil society The European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions The requirement of transparency – Access to documents, the Transparency register The European Commission and the press Required reading: Neil Nugent and Mark Rhinard, Chapter 8, in Neill Nugent and Mark Rhinard, op.cit. Charlie Jeffery and Carolyn Rowe, “The Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions: Integrating Social and Regional Interests” in Hodson and Peterson (ed.), op.cit. Andreas Hofmann, “Lobbying and Interest Group Politics in the European Union”, in Nikolaos Zahariadis and Laurie Buoanno (ed.), op. cit. Seminar 12 – THE CHALLENGES OF LEGITIMACY Brief account of theories of legitimacy – Input vs output legitimacy Policy-making in times of crises - Legitimacy of the European Commission vs legitimacy of the European Union Democratization and politization of the European Commission Information in the age of social networks Conflicts of interests Required reading: Barnard and Peers, Introduction, in Catherine Barnard, Steeve Peers (ed.), op. cit., Mark A. Pollack, Helen Wallace and Alistair R. Young, “Policy-making in a time of crises: Trends and challenges” in Wallace et al., op.cit. Richard Corbett, “Democracy in the European Union”, in Daniel Kenealy, John Peterson, and Richard Corbett, The European Union: How does it work? (4th edition), Oxford University Press, 2015 Optional: Yves Bertoncini, “"L'Europe" en notre nom : renforcer la démocratie européenne”, Terra Nova, Mai 2019, https://tnova.fr/system/contents/files/000/001/776/original/L'Europe_en_notre_nomDEF-2.pdf?1557841905