Policy Processes In The European Union The Case Of Environmental Governance

Policy Processes in the European Union
The case of environmental governance

Åbo Akademi University
Department of Public Administration
6-8 April 2010

Lectures course by Edward Cameron
ecameron@worldbank.org

EDWARD CAMERON

Consultant at the World Bank Social Development Department

Former Senior Advisor to the Maldives

Specialist in governance, climate change and EU policy

Guest Lecturer at four universities

PhD Candidate at Åbo Akademi

Policy Processes in the European Union Edward Cameron
The case of environmental governance ecameron@abo.ﬁ

KEY QUESTIONS (1)

What is the European Union?

How does the EU work?

How does the EU shape public policy in Europe and beyond?

Where is the EU going in the future?


KEY QUESTIONS (2)

What role does the EU play in environmental governance?

Case Study: The EU and climate change


WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT THE EU?

It is the place where up to 80% of national policy or legislation in a
given ﬁeld is determined

It is a policy arena that is constructed at the global, European,
national and local levels

It is therefore heavily dependent on co-operation



A unique and complicated political construct

The source of a huge amount of our laws, policies and many
aspects of our daily lives that we take for granted

A player on the global stage

Agree or disagree, love it or hate it, you must understand it,
because the world you live in is shaped by it!



“The European Communities constitute a polity – a venue where
interested actors pursue their goals and where authoritative
actors deliver policy outputs”.

Rosamond (2000)


Course Schedule

๏ Tuesday, 6 April
• 9am to 12pm
• 4pm to 6pm

๏ Wednesday, 7 April
• 9am to 12pm
• 3pm to 6pm

๏ Thursday, 8 April
• 9am to 12pm


Course Aims

๏ To deepen our understanding of the EU

๏ To strengthen our knowledge of climate change


First Principles

๏ Subjective or objective?
๏ Look beyond the theory to get at the reality
๏ An honest and informed debate
๏ An open exchange of ideas
๏ Think about what you want to achieve from this
class.


First Principles

“If we wish our civilization to survive we must
break with the habit of deference to great men”

Karl Popper - Austrian Philosopher


Examination

๏ Examination will be through an essay of
5000 words. You will chose one
question from a list of ﬁve.

๏ The cover page must contain: STUDENT
NAME; STUDENT NUMBER; TITLE OF
QUESTION; WORD COUNT;

๏ REFERENCES are essential and may be
included as footnotes or endnotes. A
BIBLIOGRAPHY must be included at the
end of the paper


Examination

๏ Your paper must contain ARGUMENT,
EVIDENCE, and OPINION

๏ Please submit one hard copy to Marina
Hamberg and one electronic copy to
ecameron@abo.ﬁ

๏ The deadline for submitting essays will
be 12h local time on Monday, 26th April
2010. Late Essays will not be accepted.


Examination

๏A good paper will combine knowledge
of the subject matter with analysis and
strong recommendations or
conclusions at the end.

๏ Plagiarism is not acceptable!


Reading Materials

๏ Wallace, H & W Wallace (eds.): Policy-making
in the European Union (The New European
Union series), Oxford University Press - April Theories History
2000.
Treaties Policies
๏ Chari, Raj & Kritzinger, Sylvia: Understanding
EU Policy Making: National Versus European Institutions Environment

Sovereignity. Pluto Press 2006.


Reading Materials

๏ Weale, A. Pridham, G. Cini, M.
Konstadakopulos, D. Porter, M. Flynn, B.:
Environmental Governance in Europe. Oxford Theories History
University Press 2003.
Treaties Policies
๏ Jordan, A (ed): Environmental Policy in the
European Union: Actors, Institutions and Institutions Environment

Processes, Earthscan 2002.


Reading Materials

๏ The Lisbon Treaty
http://europa.eu/lisbon_treaty/index_en.htm
Theories History
๏ Cameron, E. and McMahon, H. (2010) “The
EU-China Partnership: Forging a new space Treaties Policies

on global climate change”. In Jing Men (ed)
Prospects and Challenges for EU-China Institutions Environment

Relations in the 21st Century. Peter Lang,
Brussels.


EVOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The origins, progress, and impacts of the
European Union



The European Union is the product of
unique circumstances and personalities

European integration has progressed in
ﬁts and spurts over the past 60 years

Remember: The European Union is not
an accident of history, nor is its
evolution fortuitous. It is all the product
of design.



“The violent ideological
engagements of a grimmer age”



The Road not taken

๏ Denaziﬁed
๏ Deindustrialized
๏ Decentralized
๏ Democratized



“The insecure child of anxiety….a prophylactic, to
keep the past at bay”

๏ Economic necessity
๏ Armed conﬂict (nationalist, ethnic)
๏ Threat of communism

email: ecameron@abo.fi


“Phoenix-like from the ashes of the murderous-suicidal-past”.

๏ Marshall Plan Finances
๏ Security Partnerships
๏ Political leaders shaped by the tragedy of conﬂict
๏ Political leaders mindful of the new dynamics inﬂuencing the pursuit
of national interests email: ecameron@abo.fi


“The government of France proposes to place the
entire coal and steel production of France and
Germany a single high authority open to the
participation of all the countries of Europe”.


EVOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 1957
France
Germany
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Belgium
Italy

France
Germany
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Belgium
Italy

UK
Denmark
Ireland

France
Germany
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Belgium
Italy
UK
Denmark
Ireland

Greece

France
Germany
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Belgium
Italy
UK
Denmark
Ireland
Greece

Spain
Portugal

France
Germany
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Belgium
Italy
UK
Denmark
Ireland
Greece
Spain
Portugal

Finland
Sweeden
Austria

France
Germany
Netherlands Estonia
Luxembourg Latvia
Belgium Lithuania
Italy Poland
UK Czech R
Denmark Slovakia
Ireland Hungary
Greece Slovenia
Spain Cyprus
Portugal Malta
Finland
Sweeden
Austria

France
Germany
Netherlands Estonia
Luxembourg Latvia
Belgium Lithuania
Italy Poland
UK Czech R
Denmark Slovakia
Ireland Hungary
Greece Slovenia
Spain Cyprus
Portugal Malta
Finland
Sweeden Bulgaria
Austria Romania

EVOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION The Future?
France Estonia
Germany Latvia
Netherlands Lithuania
Luxembourg Poland
Iceland Belgium Czech Rep
Switzerland Italy Slovakia
Norway UK Hungary
Denmark Slovenia
Turkey Ireland Cyprus
Croatia Greece Malta
Western Balkans Spain Bulgaria
Portugal Romania
Finland
Sweeden
Austria


What is the appeal of European Union membership? Why did your
country join?
What have been the successes / failures of the EU?
How do Europeans see the EU?
How do you see the EU?


Historical achievements of EU
integration

๏ European reconstruction
๏ 60 years of peace and stability
๏ Economic growth
๏ Democratisation



Common elements of how countries’ view EU
membership:

๏A reach for prosperity and economic growth
๏A vehicle for national self-interest
๏ An attempt to stabilise new democracies
๏ An expression of the end of the cold war
๏ An attempt to have inﬂuence in a bi-polar world
๏A convenient scapegoat for national politicians



Many in Europe still perceive the EU as:

๏ Disconnected and inaccessible
๏ Bureaucratic and mysterious
๏ Sometimes ineffective and often unheralded
๏ Irrelevant

๏ Wasteful and even corrupt
๏ “A Communist plot”
๏ “A neo-liberal plot”


From enthusiastic to skeptical
Respondents thinking EU is a good thing and tending to trust the EU (% of those polled)

Netherlands
Denmark
Spain
Poland
Germany
Sweden
EU 27 average
France
Italy
UK
20 40 60 80
A good thing Tend to trust



Has the second golden age of European integration come to an end?

๏ Almost continuous treaty revisions since 1986
๏ Signiﬁcant enhancement of the EU’s role
๏ Public backlash since 2005
๏ Growing euroscepticism
๏ No appetite for further intergovernmental conferences and
treaties
๏ And yet the World is more connected and European inﬂuence is
declining relative to emerging centres


THEORIES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

What are the dominant theories of
European integration and why do they
matter?



Theories of European integration have
designed the EU of today and are
shaping the EU of tomorrow.

The major theoretical schism has been
between neo-functionalism and inter-
governmentalism

Remember: Our vision of what “Europe”
OUGHT to be shapes the reality of what
“Europe” IS!



What are the big theories of EU integration?

๏ Federalism: A deﬁnitive Constitutional settlement
๏ Functionalists: What function rather than what structure?
๏ Neo-Functionalists: Spill-over
๏ Inter-governmentalists: Co-operation between sovereign
states



Neo-functionalism

Neo-functionalists believed that sectoral integration would
produce unintended and unforeseen consequences of promoting
further integration in additional issue areas.

Narrow enough to secure consent but deep enough to open the
way towards the unity that is essential for peace” (Monnet)



Inter-governmentalism

Inter-governmentalists believed that the bargaining and
consensus building techniques which have emerged in the EU
are mere reﬁnements of intergovernmental diplomacy.



Why do theories matter?

“Theories are necessary if we are to produce ordered
observations of social phenomena” (Rosamond 2000).

Without theories we see that something is happening. With
theories we understand what is happening. We get a sense of
what is driving the big questions.



What are the big questions of EU integration?

๏ Is the EU a post-national or supranational construct?
๏ Is the EU an international organisation or a state in the
making?
๏ Is the EU a top down or bottom up initiative?



What are the big questions of EU integration?

๏ What does “ever closer union” mean?
๏ Does economic integration imply political integration?
๏ Does political integration amount to the dissolution of
national authority?
๏ Is integration a process or an outcome?



In 2010 the European Union is:

๏ Multi-level
๏ Horizontally Complex
๏ Evolving and incomplete
๏ Trying to overcome an identity crisis between “input
legitimacy” versus “output legitimacy”



What are the implications of competing theories of
European integration?
Which vision of “Europe” do you support? Why?


TREATIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

What impact have the European treaties
had? What is the current constitutional /
treaty settlement?



The Practical implications of EU Treaties

A review of the principal Treaties

An overview of the current Treaty
settlement

Remember: Treaties are as much about
what is happening behind the scenes.
Personalities and context matters!


๏ Treaty of Paris (1951)
๏ Treaties of Rome (1957)
๏ Single European Act (1986)
๏ Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty 1992)
๏ Treaty of Amsterdam (1997)
๏ Treaty of Nice (2000)
๏ European Constitution (2004)
๏ Reform Treaty (Lisbon treaty 2007)


The common elements of each Treaty:

๏ Competencies

๏ Movement of policy responsibility from National to
European levels
๏ Primary Rules (legislation)



The common elements of each Treaty:

๏ Secondary Rules (rules to make rules)
๏ Shift in the institutional balance
๏ Clariﬁcation and consolidation
๏ Streamlining (moving with the times)



The Single European Act (1986)

“The internal market shall comprise an area without internal
frontiers in which free movement of goods, persons, services,
and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of
this Treaty”. This means the removal of physical, technical, and
ﬁscal barriers to trade between the Member States of the EU”.



The Single European Act (1986)

๏ Establishment of the Structural Funds
๏ Extension of the roles of the European Council and the
European Parliament
๏ 282 measures to facilitate the creation of the single market
๏ Extension of EU competencies in health, social policy and
environment



Treaty on European Union (1992)

“Economic and social progress for their peoples within the
context of the accomplishment of the internal market and of
reinforced cohesion and environmental protection”.




๏ European Communities
๏ Common Foreign and Security Policy
๏ Justice and Home Affairs
๏ Provided the groundwork for “Schengen”
๏ Copenhagen Criteria




๏ Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the EURO
๏ Citizenship (move, work and vote)
๏ Cohesion Fund
๏ Subsidiarity

๏ Extension of the European Parliament



European Constitution (2004)

๏A Constitution you can carry in your back pocket!
๏ Streamline
decision making, ensure smooth integration of
new member states, and outline competences and rights.
๏ Constitutional Convention met in February 2002. Text was
agreed in June 2004.
๏ Stalled in May/June 2005 with the votes in France and
Holland



The Reform (Lisbon) Treaty (2004)

On 1 December 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force,
thus ending several years of negotiation about institutional
issues. The Treaty of Lisbon amends the current EU and EC
treaties, without replacing them.




๏ More than 90% of the constitution has been carried over
into the Reform Treaty.
๏ The Reform Treaty amends previous legal norms whereas
the constitution would have created new ones.
๏ Symbolic gestures - anthem, ﬂag, etc.. are removed.
๏ Charter of Fundamental Rights is relegated to an annex
๏ New opt-outs have been secured




๏ European Council made a speciﬁc institution. A new post -
“President of the European Council” is created.
๏ New foreign service for the EU with a “High-Representative
for External Relations”.
๏ New rules for Council voting; and for the make-up of the
European Parliament and Commission.




๏ Increase of co-decision procedure places European
Parliament on an equal footing with the Council for the vast
bulk of EU legislation.
๏ National parliaments may now object to EU intervention.
30% of Parliaments acting together can force a rethink; 50%
can have an issue referred to EU Parliament and Council.




๏ “Citizens' Initiative” means a petition from one million
citizens has the possibility to call on the Commission to
bring forward new policy proposals.
๏ Treaty of Lisbon explicitly recognises for the ﬁrst time the
possibility for a Member State to withdraw from the Union.



What are our views of the Lisbon Treaty?
How do we view the process of ratifying the Treaty?

Was enough done to “sell” the Treaty to Europe’s voters?

What implications will the Treaty have for Europe?

INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

An “institutional triangle” or a series of
institutional spheres?



What are the European Union
institutions?

How do they work?


INSTITUTIONS OF EUROPEAN UNION
TREATIES OF THE THE EUROPEAN UNION
The European Commission



๏ The EU's executive body: responsible for implementing
European legislation, the budget and programmes.
๏ It has the sole right of initiative to draft legislation. This gives
the Commission the power to set the agenda.
๏ It acts as guardian of the Treaties and, together with the Court of
Justice, ensures that Community law is properly applied and
enforced



๏ Commission President is appointed by the Member States
๏ 27 Commissioners appointed by the Member States, approved
by the Parliament, and supported by a large civil service
๏ The Commission is divided into some 40 directorates-general
(DGs) and services, which are subdivided in turn into
directorates, and directorates into units.



๏ Power of the Commission varies
๏ Exclusive powers (customs union, the common trade policy,
competition, agriculture)
๏ Shared powers (environment, transport)
๏ Supporting, coordinating or complementary powers (culture,
education and industry



๏ Work Programme for 2010 includes:
๏ Tackling the crisis and sustaining Europe's social market
economy;
๏ Building a citizens' agenda;
๏ Developing an ambitious and coherent external agenda;
๏ Modernising EU instruments and ways of working.



๏ Who sits in the Commission?
๏ Who sits in the Commission civil service?
๏ How does the Commission prepare policy?
๏ How accessible is the Commission to other actors during policy
preparation?
๏ How powerful is the European Commission?


The European Parliament



๏ There are 736 Members of the European Parliament drawn from
27 member states.
๏ MEPs divide their time between Brussels, Strasbourg and their
constituencies.
๏ In Brussels they attend meetings of committees and political
groups, and additional plenary sittings. In Strasbourg they
attend 12 plenary sittings.



MEPs sit in political groups.

They are not organised by
nationality, but by political
afﬁliation. There are currently
seven political groups in the
European Parliament.
EPP
Greens/EFA
IND/D
ALDE
EUL
UEN
PES
NA
Total: 736 Members



๏ Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats)
๏ Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European
Parliament
๏ Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
๏ Group of the Greens / European Free Alliance
๏ European Conservatives and Reformists Group
๏ Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left
๏ Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group


INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION European Parliament
National allocation of seats in the

The European Parliament Total: 736 Members
Cyprus / Estonia 6

Ireland 12
Seats in the European Parliament
are, as a general rule, shared out
proportionately to the population
of each Member State.
Denmark / Finland 13

Spain / Poland 50

UK / Italy / France 72

Germany 99

0
Policy Processes in the European Union 25 50
Edward Cameron 75 100


Turnout in EP elections since 1979 (%)



Voter turnout in 2009 European
Parliament elections by
individual Member State



๏ MEPs are divided up among a number of specialised standing
committees.
๏ There are 20 committees consisting of between 25 and 78
MEPs. Each has a chair, a bureau and a secretariat.
๏ The committees meet once or twice a month in Brussels. Their
debates are held in public.



The President is elected for a renewable term of two and a half
years.
The President represents the EP vis-à-vis the outside world and in
its relations with the other EU institutions.
At the beginning of every European Council meeting the President
sets out Parliament’s point of view and its concerns as regards the
items on the agenda.



๏ Change in the role and scope of the EP over time is largely due
to its own lobbying
๏ Itsinvolvement in the legislative process helps to guarantee
democratic legitimacy
๏ Claims to democratic legitimacy / mandate undermined by low
turn out in EP elections



๏ The number of MEPs will be capped at 751.
๏ Seats are distributed among countries according to “degressive
proportionality”, i.e. MEPs from more populous countries will
each represent more people than those from smaller countries.
๏ No country may now have less than 6 or more than 96 MEPs.



๏ Parliament is a mixed bag in terms of skills, competencies, and
powers
๏ EP’s role is evolving over time
๏ Concerns over how the EP exercises its budget remain


The Council of Ministers

๏ Is the EU institution that belongs to the Member governments
๏ It is the Union's legislative body
๏ It coordinates the broad economic policies of the Member States
๏ Decisions taken by simple majority, qualiﬁed majority, or
unanimity



๏ Council meets in different formations (transport, environment,
foreign affairs, etc...
๏ Council Secretariat based in Brussels
๏ Practical Work carried out in working groups (COREPER)
๏ Votes weighted according to population



With QMV member states have ﬁxed votes roughly determined by its
population. To pass a vote by QMV, all three of the following conditions
must apply:
๏ Must be supported by 232 out of the total of 321 votes (72.27%);
๏ Must be backed by a majority of member states;
๏ Countries supporting the proposal must represent at least 62% of the
total EU population.



In 2014, “double majority voting” will be introduced.
To be passed by the Council, proposed EU laws will then require a majority
not only of the EU’s member countries (55 %) but also of the EU population
(65 %).


QMV

Votes
Population

Total votes: 321 QMV: 232 Blocking votes: 90



๏ The work programme of the Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian
Presidencies runs from January 2010 to June 2011.
๏ The revision of the Lisbon Strategy
๏ Better regulation and supervision of ﬁnancial markets.
๏ Implementation and possible review of the energy and climate
package in the light of the results of the Copenhagen summit.
๏ Managing the rest of the EU’s agenda.


The European Council

๏ Supreme decision making body - “forum of last resort”
๏ Comprises heads of EU governments


The President of the European Council

Elected by the European Council for 2½ years, the main job of the
president is to prepare the Council’s work, ensure its continuity
and work to secure consensus among member countries.



๏ Maintains and directs the Council work
๏ Impartial arbitrator within the Council
๏ Represents the EU view to the UN and WTO



๏ Dialogue with Third countries (US and Russia)
๏ Represents the Council in relations with other EU Institutions


The Council of Ministers and the European Council

๏ Most powerful institution?
๏ Least European?

๏ Least Transparent?


The European Court of Justice

๏ Ensures that Community law is uniformly interpreted and
effectively applied
๏ Has jurisdiction in disputes involving Member States, EU
institutions, businesses and individuals


๏ Deals with challenges to the legality of EU law and non-
compliance with EU law
๏ Assists Member States Courts in the Interpretation and
Application of EU law


๏A Court of First Instance has been attached to it since 1988
๏ CFI hears actions brought by non-state actors against the acts
of the institutions


The European Court of Auditors

๏ Based in Luxembourg. Checks that all the Union's revenue has
been received and all its expenditure incurred in a lawful and
regular manner and that ﬁnancial management of the EU budget
has been sound.
๏ Members appointed by the Member States


The European Central Bank

๏ Based in Frankfurt. Frames and implements European monetary
policy
๏ Controls interest rates and money supply in the Eurozone area
๏ Itconducts foreign exchange operations and ensures the
smooth operation of payment systems.


The European Central Bank

๏ Executive Board and Governing Council sets policy
๏ Sole goal to guarantee low inﬂation
๏ This role is coming under increasing pressure
๏ May express opinions on economic policies pursued in the
Eurozone countries


The European Committee of the Regions

๏ Ensures that regional and local concerns are respected. It has to
be consulted on matters concerning regional policy, the
environment and education.
๏ It is composed of representatives of regional and local
authorities


European Agencies

๏ ECOSOC

๏ European Ombudsman
๏ European Environment Agency (EEA)
๏ European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
๏ European Investment Bank



The Media and Lobbyists


Institutional Recap

๏ Commission initiates policy
๏ Council is the supreme decision-making body
๏ Parliament shares legislative authority on certain issues
๏ Court of Justice interprets and applies EU law
๏ ECB sets interest rates within the € zone


“Who do I call if I want to call Europe?”

Herman Van Rompaya - President of the European Council Jose Luis Zapatero - President in Ofﬁce of the Council of Ministers

Jose Manuel Barroso - President of the European Commission Jerzey Buzek MEP - President of the European Parliament

“Who do I call if I want to call Europe?”

Jean-Claude Trichet - President of the European Central Bank
Vassilios Skouris - President of the Court of Justice

Mercedes Bresso -
President of the
Committee of the Regions


Are there parallels between the European institutions and other
organizations /institutions?
Do you consider the institutional system to be effective?
Do you consider the institutional system to be equitable?
Do you consider the institutional system to be democratic?

DECISION-MAKING IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

“The result of interaction, in particular
between the "institutional triangle" formed
by the Parliament, the Council and the
European Commission”.



What policy modes are employed by
the European Union?

What are the variables of decision-
making?

What does the policy journey look
like?

What are the factors that determine a
successful policy process?



“extraordinary and ever-increasing diversity of policy modes
whereby the preferences of national governments, sub-national
actors, and supranational organizations are changed into common
policies”.


Five Policy Modes

๏ The Community Method
๏ The Regulatory Mode
๏ The Distributional Mode
๏ Policy Coordination
๏ Intensive Transgovernmentalism


The Community Method

๏A strong role for the European Commission
๏ An empowering role for the Council through strategic bargaining
๏ Co-opting stakeholders into a European process
๏ National agencies as subordinate to a European regime


The Community Method

๏ Limited opportunities for parliamentarians to intervene
๏ Collective resourcing
๏ Limited role for the ECJ


The Regulatory Mode (environment)

๏ The Commission as the architect of objectives and rules
๏ The Council as a forum for agreeing minimum standards
๏ The ECJ as a means of ensuring that the rules are enforced
๏ The European Parliament in the role of co-legislator
๏ Extensive opportunities for stakeholders to get involved.


The Distributional Mode
(Regional Funds)

๏ Using ﬁnancial incentives to inﬂuence policy developments
within member states
๏ The Commission devises programmes in communication with
other stakeholders


The Distributional Mode
(Regional Funds)

๏ Council agrees to a redistributive budget
๏ EP applies additional pressure
๏ Local and regional authorities participate through the CoR. Other
stakeholders also participate through e.g. FPRD


Policy Coordination (transport /
employment)

๏ Member States appraise and compare policies
๏A second best option?
๏ Commission develops networks of experts
๏ Council convenes high level groups
๏ Open Method of Coordination


Intensive Transgovernmentalism
(EMU / Foreign Policy)

๏ EU governments commit themselves to intensive cooperation
but prefer to do so outside the boundaries of the EU institutions.
๏ Council of Ministers is preeminent here.
๏ Commission is marginalized. EP and ECJ are excluded.
๏ Conducted beyond the scrutiny of Parliament and Public
๏ Substantial outcomes


The variables of decision-making

๏ Choices facing the European Commission
๏ Roles for the European Parliament
๏ Voting procedures in the Council of Ministers


The choices for the
European Commission

๏ Regulations

๏ Directives

๏ Green Papers
๏ White Papers
๏ Decisions

๏ Which Article of the Treaty to use?

The roles for the European
Parliament

๏ Co-decision (70% - amend and veto)
๏ Consultation (original system)
๏ Assent (rare and blunt)
๏ Co-operation


Voting in the Council of
Ministers

๏ Qualiﬁed Majority Voting (QMV)
๏ Unanimity


The Policy Journey

๏ Drafting inside the Commission
๏ Commission to EP (ECOSOC and CoR)
๏ EP back to Commission
๏ Commission to Council


The Policy Journey

๏ Council to EP
๏ EP back to Council
๏ Conciliation


Successful policy
approaches require...

๏ Alliances

๏ This requires great skill and patience
๏ Everyone is a lobbyist in Brussels


POLICIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The EU has competency in a
variety of different ﬁelds. We will
look at some of those from
programmatic and policy
perspectives


Budget

Common Agricultural Policy

The Lisbon Agenda

Sustainable Development


The Budget

The Budget Unspent money from previous years
Customs duties and levies
VAT from Member States
GNI contributions from MS
Who pays for the EU?


POLICIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Country contributions to the EU
The Budget budget

Before British Rebate After British Rebate

Net contributions to the EU budget per
person in Euro from 2003


POLICIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Country contributions to the EU
The Budget budget

Members contribute to the EU budget roughly in
proportion to the size of their economy.

Germany is the biggest net contributor. It receives
Billion Euros less from the EU budget than France and Spain,
and pays in more.
Net contributions to the EU budget per
country in Euro from 2004


POLICIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Citizenship - €1.1bn
Administration - €6.7bn
Competitiveness - €7.9bn
The Budget Foreign Aid - €8.3bn
Cohesion - €39.8bn
Natural Resources - €56.3bn

In 2006 the European Union spent
approximately €121bn, or 1% of
its members' gross national
income.

“A modern budget for Europe is
not one that ten years from now
is still spending 40% of its money
on the CAP”.

Tony Blair at the European The CAP goes to 2% of the EU
Parliament in July 2005 workforce. 80% of CAP goes to
the richest 20% of farmers


POLICIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION National defence, veterans, and international affairs
Social Security
Administration of Justice
The Budget Net interest
Natural resources, environment and transportation
Education, training and employment services
Federal spending is more than Health and medicare
$2.4 trillion a year and makes up Income security
more than half of total Other
government spending in the
United States. The federal
government now accounts for
20% of the total US gross
domestic product (GDP), but this
was not always the case.


The Common Agricultural Policy


๏A relic of Post-War Europe or an important feature of a self-
sufﬁcient Europe?
๏ Increasing productivity
๏ Social support for the farming community
๏ Guaranteeing security of supply



๏ Price Guarantees
๏ Subsidies for production
๏ Intervention

๏ Import tariffs



๏ CAP subsidies make up on average about 90% of a farmers pre-
tax income
๏ Estimates suggest that between 30% and 60% of French farms
would disappear if all subsidies and external tariffs were
drastically altered.



๏ Higher environmental impact
๏ Higher costs for European consumers
๏A recipe for waste
๏A tax on the developing world
๏A club for rich farmers



๏ In light of rising food prices?
๏ In light of climate change and the growth in biofuels
๏ In light of increasing urbanization
๏ In light of other demands on the EU budget


Innovation and competitiveness: The Lisbon Agenda

Innovation and competitiveness:
The Lisbon Agenda

“The Union has today set itself a new strategic goal for the next
decade: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-
based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic
growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”.


The Lisbon Agenda

๏ Long-term structural Unemployment
๏ Gender and Age Gaps
๏ Regional imbalances
๏ Competition with USA, India and China
๏ “not enough enterprise and too few entrepreneurs”


The Lisbon Agenda

๏ 3% annual economic growth across the Union
๏ Creation of 20 million new jobs by 2010
๏ Raise employment rate to 70% of the population
๏ Reduce red tape to promote entrepreneurship


The Lisbon Agenda

๏ Better policies on ICT and R&D (eEurope, FP7, CIP, ERA)
๏ Structural reform leading to competitiveness and innovation
๏ Modernising the European Social Model by investing in people


The Lisbon Agenda

๏ Too focused on economic growth
๏ Too short term in scope
๏ Lacking adequate resources
๏ Few quantiﬁable targets
๏ Questionable premise?


The Sustainable Development
Strategies


Strategies

Evolution
๏ 1957 – 1972: Very little Environment
๏ 1972 – 1986: Environment within the conﬁnes of the single
market
๏ 1986 – 1992: Environment for its own sake


Strategies

Evolution
๏ 1986 – 1992: Environment for its own sake
๏ 1992 – 2003: Environment as a priority later becoming
environment as a component of sustainable development
๏ 2003 – Present: Sustainable development as a component within
the competitiveness agenda


Strategies

Drivers (1): The internal market and national self- interest

๏ Cassis de Dijon (1979)
๏ Product Standards (Danish Bottles – 1981)
๏ Process / Pollution Control (Germany – 1983)


Strategies

Drivers (1): The internal market and national self- interest

๏ To avoid competitive disadvantage do we level up or level
down?
๏ Environment and competitiveness: “ﬁrst-mover-advantage” or
merely higher costs?


Strategies

Drivers (2): Rising public concern and impact

๏ Fear of a degrading environment
๏ Growing concerns on issues of public health and safety
๏ Looking to Europe to solve issues that domestic governments
don’t address

Strategies

Drivers (3): Institutional Dynamics
๏ Commission actively pursues new domains
๏ Role of the Parliament in “greening” policy
๏ Ministers go above the national and straight to Europe
๏ EEA gathers better information
๏ ECJ creates precedents

Strategies

Drivers (4): Internal Coherence
๏ Environment naturally becomes SD as linkages become clearer
๏ All other drivers ultimately demand a joined-up approach
๏ Internaldynamics as well as responses to external international
agreements


Strategies

Drivers (5): Scientiﬁc Knowledge

๏ Unerstanding of environmental threats has increased
๏ Understanding of socio-ecological interface has increased


Strategies

The Sustainable Development Strategies

Principally concerned with engineering a de-coupling of
environmental degradation and resource consumption from
economic and social development. Designed to change the ways
policies are conceived, communicated and implemented.


Strategies


๏A holistic strategy for 2001-2005
๏ Limit climate change and increase clean energy (ETS);
๏ Address threats to public health (REACH);


Strategies


๏ Combat poverty;

๏ Address problems of the ageing population;
๏ Manage natural resources more responsibly;
๏ Improve transport system, land-use and pollution


Strategies

๏ Too environmental;
๏ Too abstract, vague and non-committal;
๏ No integration or coherence;
๏ Poor communication and stakeholder dialogue;
๏ “Intentions on the political level are good. Implementation of
policies is not”.


Strategies
Has EU progress on Sustainable Is the current system of Has the EU made satisfactory
Development been satisfactory since communicating with stakeholders progress meeting its climate change
2001? satisfactory? objectives?

Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Agree Agree
Disagree Strongly Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree
Uncertain Uncertain Uncertain


Strategies

Revised Sustainable Development Strategies
๏ Climate Change and Clean Energy
๏ Sustainable Transport

๏ Sustainable Consumption and Production


Strategies

Revised Sustainable Development Strategies
๏ Consumption and Production
๏ Conservation and Management of natural resources
๏ Public Health
๏ Social inclusion, demography and migration
๏ Global Poverty and Sustainable Development challenges


Strategies

Instruments
๏ Education and Training
๏ Research and Development
๏ Financial and Economic Instruments
๏ Communication and Monitoring
๏ Legislation


Strategies

Two strategies - what happened to the ﬁrst one?
๏ What happened to the targets?
๏ The policy coherence and integration?
๏ The implementation?
๏ The transparent decision making?
๏ The speciﬁc policies (ETS and REACH)?


CASE STUDY: CLIMATE CHANGE

The immediate and far
reaching implications and the
EU’s response



What is climate change?

How does it change the context for
development?

Vulnerability

Climate Change building blocks


Changing the context for sustainable development

Climate change alters the context for development

WBG staff need to develop new skills and hone existing ones

Understanding climate change as a socio-ecological
phenomenon is a vital starting point


What are the Social Dimensions of Climate Change?

๏ Complex social responses
๏ Impacts of climate change interventions
๏ Reconciling socio-ecological systems


Climate change is unequivocal, accelerating and human induced

Temperature rises, extreme weather events, changes in hydrological cycles, sea level rise, threats to
unique systems and biodiversity, increase in flooding and storm surges

Climate change impacts natural systems

Species decimation and extinction; habitat loss and fragmentation; undermines eco-system services
(provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting).

Climate change leads to complex social responses

Loss of livelihoods; health/fatalities; food/water insecurity; migration; conflict; damage to infrastructure;
decline in natural systems services; distribution of impacts

Climate change undermines development and exacerbates inequality

Poor are hardest hit; infrastructure is destroyed; educational attainment is affected; vital resources are
diverted; asset creation and accumulation becomes more difficult

Critical in shaping climate change instruments and interventions leading to reduced vulnerability
and greater resilience

Improved analytical underpinnings, risk management and
development policy effectiveness

Technological; knowledge; political; various types of assets (social, physical, natural, ﬁnancial,
human, cultural capital)

Enhanced capital and resources

Implementation of governance principles across governance scales leads to enhanced capital and
resources

Improved governance

Key to authoritative advocacy for vulnerable populations; providing access to processes;
inﬂuencing the nature of processes; vital for building constituencies and securing agreement

Change analysis and diagnosis

Policy Processes In The European Union The Case Of Environmental Governance

Policy Processes In The European Union The Case Of Environmental Governance

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