Ingi Iusmen

The European Commission as guardian angel: the challenges of agenda-setting for children's rights

In 2006 the European Commission, under the leadership of Directorate General (DG) Justice, adopted a policy of promoting childrens rights, a project that inevitably relied on the support of childrens rights organizations. This article examines why the relationship between the Commission and the childrens rights networks shifted from consensus to disenssus and how this has impacted on the childrens rights agenda. We argue that the relationship with childrens rights networks did not follow the normal pattern of Commission–interest group relations. Clientelistic, symbiotic relations were difficult to establish. The disengagement of the key childrens rights advocacy organizations from the Commissions agenda intensified the impact of the conflict between DG Justice and DG External Relations over the issue and prevented the Commission from accomplishing its goal to become an agenda-setter in this area.

EU Leverage and Democratic Backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe: the Case of Romania†

This article examines the effectiveness of European Union post-accession leverage to contain democratic backsliding in the Member States by employing as a case study the EUs intervention concerning the impeachment of the Romanian President Băsescu in July 2012. It is argued that a set of domestic factors, such as political miscalculations, tensions within the ruling coalition and opportunistic actions, facilitated the success of EU material leverage to halt democratic deterioration in Romania. The comparison drawn with the anti-democratic turn in Hungary demonstrates that facilitating domestic conditions, available in the Romanian case but lacking in the Hungarian one, can affect the exercise of EU post-accession leverage to contain democratic regression in the Member States.

Civil society participation and EU children's rights policy

Since 2006, the European Commission has embraced the promotion of childrens rights inside and outside the Union by including civil society organizations in the European Unions (EU) policy processes. This article critically examines the impact of the participation of child rights’ organizations on the policy processes regarding the EU child rights agenda. It is argued that a ‘bifurcated’ pattern of civil society engagement has emerged in relation to EU internal and external policy dimensions: While Commission external services developed a structured and inclusive relationship with childrens organizations, Directorate General Justice, on the other hand, has ended up disengaging the same stakeholders. It is argued that the ‘bifurcated’ pattern of civil society engagement entailed the adoption of divergent policy frames on childrens rights at the Commission level and limited the Europeanization effects at the domestic level. Last but not least, the fallout of civil society stakeholders regarding EU internal policy has undermined the Commissions capacity to translate the abstract principles contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into concrete measures that would really make a difference on the ground to childrens lives.

The dilemmas of pursuing 'throughput legitimacy' through participatory mechanisms

Abstract Under pressure to open up the ‘black box’ of governance, technocratic bodies are increasingly seeking to include civil society participation in the policy process. This article draws on empirical cases from the European Commission and NHS England to assess the extent to which the participatory mechanisms pursued by these institutions have been successful in eliciting ‘throughput legitimacy’. It is shown that though these mechanisms have taken very different forms – the former a classic instance of ‘window dressing’ participation, the latter closer to ‘best practice’ in this field – they nevertheless share a number of ongoing vulnerabilities. The article outlines the shared organisational, operational and existential dilemmas that technocratic bodies face when eliciting civil society participation, and highlight their reliance on backstage negotiation to sustain stakeholder buy-in. It concludes by highlighting the prospect that the pursuit of throughput legitimacy for technocratic bodies entails inherent limitations and contradictions.

Romania's accession to the EU and the EU children's rights agenda: policy entrepreneurship and feedback effects

Abstract Policy entrepreneurs and feedback effects can shape the European Unions (EUs) human rights agenda. This article examines the role of policy entrepreneurs and policy feedback in relation to EU intervention in childrens rights in Romania and the impact of this intervention on the EU itself. The childrens rights accession conditionality as applied on Romania amounted to an interventionist policy, which radically overhauled the Romanian childrens rights provisions. The Romanian childrens case, however, provided EU policy entrepreneurs with a window of opportunity to introduce childrens rights as an EU internal policy, while, in the context of EU enlargement, positive feedback effects have entrenched the protection of childrens rights as an EU accession condition. It is shown that the childrens rights conditionality applied on Romania before 2007 has impacted upon the EUs approach to childrens rights by forging the development of institutional structures and policy mechanisms at the Commission level to promote childrens rights in the EUs internal and external policy dimensions.

How Are Children’s Rights (Mis)Interpreted in Practice? The European Commission, Children’s Rights and Policy Narratives

International children’s rights and principles are enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). All EU Member States are parties to the CRC, and therefore, they are legally bound to translate its key principles and provisions into concrete legislative and policy measures. Among the fundamental child rights principles, the best interests of the child (Art.3 CRC) and child participation (Art.12 CRC) are the most complex and challenging to implement in practice. More recently, the EU, under the leadership of the European Commission, has endorsed the promotion of children’s rights as one of its overarching policy objectives. This chapter will assess how successful the EU institutions have been in interpreting ‘child participation’ and ‘the best interests of the child’. By focusing on the European Commission, this chapter will examine the extent to which policy narratives have shaped the meanings attached to these two child rights principles in relation to concrete policy measures and instruments. It will be shown that the interpretations and misinterpretations attached to these child rights principles amount to a narrow and tokenistic approach, whereby the EU institutions merely pay lip service to CRC principles, despite their formal embrace of these principles in key EU legal and policy documents.

‘Non multa, sed multum’: EU Roma policy and the challenges of Roma inclusion

Abstract The Roma face widespread discrimination and marginalisation in the EU. To address these, the Commission adopted an EU Roma policy—‘EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies’ (2011)—which is implemented with the support of EU legal, financial and soft law instruments. This paper investigates the effectiveness and implications of EU Roma policy in addressing the social exclusion and discrimination faced by the Roma by assessing the policy framing, the key EU instruments and whether they address the root causes of Roma marginalisation. It is argued that the socio-economic framing of Roma exclusion—underpinning the EU Roma policy—along with the EU instruments upholding its implementation, both blurred the responsibility boundaries for Roma inclusion between the EU and national levels, and also proved ineffective and ill-designed in addressing the root causes of Roma exclusion and discrimination.

A Means to an End or an End in Itself? EU Roma Policy, Human Rights and the Economic Investment Myth: EU Roma Policy and Human Rights

The Roma face a dire socio†economic situation and structural discrimination across Europe. To address the challenges experienced by this community, the EU adopted a specific EU Roma policy – the ‘EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies’ (2011) – which, together with EU funds, supports Member States with integration of the Roma at the national level. This article argues that the economic framing of the EU Roma policy is underpinned by an economic investment myth: namely, that the EU can only address rights violations as a means to achieving the EUs economic ends. It is shown that this myth undermines the EUs legal and constitutional human rights commitments post†Lisbon, according to which the EU has now the legal capability – but lacks the political will – to tackle rights violations such as discrimination in a manner that is not linked to the functioning of the common market.

The EU and the Global Promotion of Children’s Rights Norms

The European Union (EU) has embraced the promotion of children’s rights, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as a key objective of its external policy. This chapter critically examines the EU’s role as an international children’s rights actor by assessing the effectiveness of EU external actions aimed at upholding children’s rights. It is demonstrated that children’s rights have emerged as an entrenched EU accession condition, particularly due to the EU’s intervention in child protection in Romania before 2007. The EU has also endeavoured to address the violation of children’s rights via the employment of thematic programmes, such as the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and Investing in People (IiP), which are part of EU development and democratisation policies. The EU’s external policy on children’s rights, however, has faced shortcomings, such as the promotion of a narrow interpretation (a ‘needs-based’ approach) of children’s rights, ineffective mainstreaming, lack of expertise, and the complexity of translating abstract principles into effective measures. Despite these shortcomings, the EU has emerged as a significant international children’s rights actor, and its actions to advance children’s rights have attached greater salience and political visibility to the plight of children across the world.