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Featured researches published by Pieter Zwaan.


International Review of Administrative Sciences | 2016

Ex post legislative evaluation in the European Union: questioning the usage of evaluations as instruments for accountability

Pieter Zwaan; Stijn van Voorst; Ellen Mastenbroek

Evaluations may perform a key role in political systems as they provide a basis for parliaments to hold their executives accountable. This is equally the case in the European Union. Yet, several factors may work against the usage of European Union evaluations for accountability purposes. Members of the European Parliament work under great time pressure and executives may have little incentives to produce high-quality evaluations. This article therefore addresses the question of to what extent and when Members of the European Parliament use ex post legislative evaluations. We present an analysis of 220 evaluations, studying how many were referred to in parliamentary questions. Our main finding is that 16% of the evaluations are followed up through questions. However, the parliamentary questions hardly serve accountability aims. Members of the European Parliament mostly use evaluations for agenda-setting purposes. The main variable explaining differences in the usage of evaluations is the level of conflict between the European Parliament and Commission during the legislative process. Points for practitioners This article studies the usage of ex post evaluations of European Union legislation by Members of the European Parliament for accountability purposes by analysing European Parliament questions. It shows that MEPs ask different types of questions, referring to ex post evaluations. Most of the questions reveal forward-looking rather than backward-looking motives, aimed at agenda-setting and policy change instead of accountability. It concludes that variance in parliamentary questions about the follow-up of evaluation outcomes can be explained by the level of conflict between the European Parliament and Commission during the legislative stage.


Journal of European Public Policy | 2018

The (non-)use of ex post legislative evaluations by the European Commission

Stijn van Voorst; Pieter Zwaan

ABSTRACT The European Commission has repeatedly emphasized that the results of ex post legislative (EPL) evaluations should be used to improve the quality of its legislative proposals. This article aims to explain the variation in such instrumental use of EPL evaluations by the Commission. Three high-quality EPL evaluations with varying levels of use were studied in-depth to assess the influence of political factors on evaluation use. The results show that, contrary to expectations, EPL evaluations may be used instrumentally even if their recommendations are opposed by important political actors in the legislative process. This article also shows that a lack of salience of the policy field to which an EPL evaluation belongs in the eyes of the Commission could, in combination with the institutions ambition to reduce its legislative output, be a sufficient condition for the non-use of that evaluation.


Sociologia Ruralis | 2016

New Wine in Different Bottles: Negotiating and Selling the CAP post-2013 Reform

Gerry Alons; Pieter Zwaan


Journal of Contemporary European Research | 2015

Legitimating the CAP: The European Commission's Discursive Strategies for Regaining Support for Direct Payments

Pieter Zwaan; Gerry Alons


Revue Internationale des Sciences Administratives | 2016

Évaluation législative ex post dans l’Union européenne : questionnement de l’utilisation d’évaluations en tant qu’instruments d’imputabilité

Pieter Zwaan; Stijn van Voorst; Ellen Mastenbroek


Archive | 2014

Engaging with Europe. Evaluating national parliamentary control of EU decision making after the Lisbon Treaty. Part II: Management Report

Ellen Mastenbroek; Pieter Zwaan; Afke Groen; W.P. van Meurs; H. Reiding; Nora Dörrenbächer; Christine Neuhold


Archive | 2014

Engaging with Europe. Evaluating national parliamentary control of EU decision making after the Lisbon Treaty. Part I: Report of findings

Ellen Mastenbroek; Pieter Zwaan; Afke Groen; W.P. van Meurs; H. Reiding; Nora Dörrenbächer; Christine Neuhold


Archive | 2014

Engaging with Europe

Ellen Mastenbroek; Pieter Zwaan; Afke Groen; Wim van Meurs; H. Reiding; Nora Dörrenbächer; Christine Neuhold


Archive | 2014

Engaging with Europe: Evaluating national parliamentary control of EU decision making after the Lisbon Treaty (Part I and II)

Ellen Mastenbroek; Pieter Zwaan; Afke Groen; W. van Meurs; H. Reiding; Nora Dörrenbächer; Christine Neuhold


Archive | 2014

Final Project report of the Project: Meer grip op Brussel? Evaluatieonderzoek naar de werking en parlementaire controle na het Verdrag van Lissabon

Ellen Mastenbroek; Pieter Zwaan; Afke Groen; W. van Meurs; H. Reiding; Nora Dörrenbächer; Christine Neuhold

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Ellen Mastenbroek

Radboud University Nijmegen

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Stijn van Voorst

Radboud University Nijmegen

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Gerry Alons

Radboud University Nijmegen

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