Christine Neuhold

Achieving Consensus Through Committees: Does the European Parliament Manage?*

This article examines the role of the standing committees in building consensus within the European Parliament (EP) and asks whether the ability to fulfil this function has remained stable even in the context of enlarged membership after the June 2004 elections. To this avail, original data have been collected on the voting behaviour in EP committees, from July 1999 through July 2006, and interviews with key players have been conducted. Findings show that committees generally work very consensually, regardless of the issue at stake and the procedure applied. At the same time, the committee system seems to be evolving towards greater differentiation across policy areas and, partially, across legislative procedures.

Parliamentary Participation in EU Affairs in Austria, Finland and Sweden: Newcomers With Different Approaches

The national parliaments in Austria, Finland, and Sweden faced similar challenges as regards to parliamentary participation in EU affairs when their countries became EU members in 1995. They chose different institutional frameworks, where in Austria the respective legal provisions were comparatively rather strong. However, the Austrian parliament rarely makes use of its extensive formal powers but finds it difficult to select the relevant EU issues to exercise its controlling powers. Finland and Sweden, on the other hand, did not provide for such extensive room of manoeuvre for their parliaments but have been more successful in selecting important EU matters to exercise parliamentary control. Especially the Finnish solution, where the parliament focuses on issues that should have been decided by the parliament if Finland had not been a member of the EU, has proven to be particularly successful.

‘The Roles Bureaucrats Play’: The Input of European Parliament (EP) Administrators into the Ordinary Legislative Procedure: A Case Study Approach

Abstract The European Parliament (EP) is branded as one of the winners of the Lisbon Treaty. It has seen its role expanded to more than 40 Treaty articles and obtained the status of co-legislator in previously uncharted territory such as agriculture, fisheries and legal migration. This raises the question of how the EP adapts itself to the newly obtained powers in order to fulfill its legislative role. A very pertinent issue in this context are the type of tasks that are delegated to EP civil servants as this might have implications for the democratic legitimacy of the directly elected Members. This contribution identifies the conditions under which civil servants take up different types of tasks by looking at four cases in two different policy areas: migration and fisheries. Political importance of the dossier and expertise are identified as key determinants for the role of civil servants in the ordinary legislative procedure.

Informal Politics in the EU

Traditionally, much of the focus of the study of politics has been on formal arrangements and formal institutions. In recent years, however, this dominant focus has given way to an increasing concern with informal aspects of politics. This can be said for both the study of comparative politics and international relations more generally and for research on governance within the European Union in particular. Against this background, the aim of this research note is, first, to review the findings of research on informal governance and, second, to explore whether analytical concepts can be applied to the EU, with the aim of bringing greater conceptual clarity to the field and identifying future research agendas in this area. In a final section, the article also addresses the normative dimension of informal governance in the EU, discussing both the benefits and the risks of such arrangements from the perspective of transparency, efficiency and democratic accountability.

Out of REACH? Parliamentary Control of EU Affairs in the Netherlands and the UK

The role of national parliaments in European integration is a topical issue in current political and academic debates. This article aims to contribute to these debates by formulating three hypotheses on the differences in parliamentary scrutiny between member states. It is hypothesised that due to differences in the structure of political systems, the British and Dutch Upper and Lower House hold their respective governments to account in different ways. The hypotheses will be discussed in light of empirical findings on the EU regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation, and restriction of chemical substances (REACH). The empirical evidence provides a mixed picture with regard to these claims.

Why Is Fast Track the Way to Go? Justifications for Early Agreement in the Co‐Decision Procedure and Their Effects

Since the introduction of the co-decision procedure by way of the Maastricht Treaty, the procedure has been transformed considerably. One of the most striking innovations is the possibility to adopt a legislative act in first reading. This article aims to answer the questions whether the increasing use of this fast track procedure is in line with Treaty provisions and/or intra/inter-institutional rules, and what the effects are of these stipulations. The empirical findings presented in this study indicate that two reasons for taking the fast track gain dominance in the practical political process, ie the political priorities of the Council and European Parliament (EP) and whether these actors consider a legislative file as urgent. From a study of two directives, it becomes clear that this dominance of factors has consequences for the type of early agreement reached (first or early second), the quality of the adopted legislation and its implementation at the national level.

Civil Servants and Politics: A Delicate Balance

List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations PART I: CIVIL SERVANTS AND POLITICS: SETTING THE SCENE Introduction C.Neuhold & S.Vanhoonacker Politicisation: What is it and why should we care? B.G.Peters Civil Servants and Politicians: Problems and Future Prospects L.Verhey Civil Servants and Whistle-blowing: Loyal Neutrality and/or Democratic Ideal? G.Hunt PART II: POLITICISATION OF CIVIL SERVANTS BETWEEN NEUTRALITY AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM? COUNTRY STUDIES Civil Servants and Politicians: A Very British Relationship D.Woodhouse Managerialism and politicisation in the Dutch Civil Service S.van Thiel Civil Servants: How to Support the Political Level: The French Case F.Baron Civil Service Reform in Slovakia and Hungary: The Road to Professionalisation? K.Staronova Civil Servants and Politics in Germany U.Battis PART III: SUPRANATIONAL BUREAUCRACIES AND CONSEQUENCES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PLAYERS Commission Civil Servants and Politics: De-politicised Bureaucrats in an Increasingly Political Organisation M.W.Bauer & J.Ege The European Parliaments Administration: Between Neutral and Politicised Competence C.Neuhold & I.Romanyshyn Conclusion S.Vanhoonacker, C.Neuhold & L.Verhey

Civil Servants and Politics

List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations PART I: CIVIL SERVANTS AND POLITICS: SETTING THE SCENE Introduction C.Neuhold & S.Vanhoonacker Politicisation: What is it and why should we care? B.G.Peters Civil Servants and Politicians: Problems and Future Prospects L.Verhey Civil Servants and Whistle-blowing: Loyal Neutrality and/or Democratic Ideal? G.Hunt PART II: POLITICISATION OF CIVIL SERVANTS BETWEEN NEUTRALITY AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM? COUNTRY STUDIES Civil Servants and Politicians: A Very British Relationship D.Woodhouse Managerialism and politicisation in the Dutch Civil Service S.van Thiel Civil Servants: How to Support the Political Level: The French Case F.Baron Civil Service Reform in Slovakia and Hungary: The Road to Professionalisation? K.Staronova Civil Servants and Politics in Germany U.Battis PART III: SUPRANATIONAL BUREAUCRACIES AND CONSEQUENCES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PLAYERS Commission Civil Servants and Politics: De-politicised Bureaucrats in an Increasingly Political Organisation M.W.Bauer & J.Ege The European Parliaments Administration: Between Neutral and Politicised Competence C.Neuhold & I.Romanyshyn Conclusion S.Vanhoonacker, C.Neuhold & L.Verhey

‘Connecting Europe’: The Use of ‘New’ Information and Communication Technologies within European Parliament Standing Committees

The EP as the only directly elected EU institution, portrays itself as the forum that is open not only to input by lobby groups but to that of ‘average’ citizens. This paper probes the contribution of the Internet in this quest to connect Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) with citizens and here specifically we examine the role of the EPs Standing Committees. The analysis is rooted within the larger debate of the possible contribution of the Internet to encouraging the development of a European public space. The discussion focuses on the use of new technologies, including interactive and non-interactive communication methods such as email and discussion fora. It attempts to generate a series of topics for further investigation by outlining some initial results from interviews, carried out at the European level.

Problem-Based Learning in European Studies

The approach of problem-based learning (PBL) is the main teaching method within the field of European Studies at Maastricht University, at both the bachelor and master’s level. PBL is a student-centred approach in which students collaboratively – in small groups with the support of a tutor – solve problems that are presented in different assignment texts. Advocates of PBL claim that it enhances content knowledge and fosters the development of communication and problem-solving skills as well as self-directed learning.