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The European Commission after Enlargement

The European Commission after Enlargement. Does More Add Up to Less? Sebastian Kurpas Centre for European Policy Studies. Recent CEPS Study. Central research question: How has the European Commission developed since the 2004 enlargement?

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The European Commission after Enlargement

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  1. The European Commission after Enlargement Does More Add Up to Less? Sebastian Kurpas Centre for European Policy Studies

  2. Recent CEPS Study • Central research question: How has the European Commission developed since the 2004 enlargement? => Enlargement as one (important) factor for change/continuity, but not the only one • Study based on • Extensive data on Commission ‘output’ (PreLex) • 29 expert interviews (Commission officials, diplomats) • Sample of College minutes • Analysis of press coverage (factiva)

  3. Main Result: Continuity in Output • Unlike predictions, the Commission has not been ‘grid-locked’ • Total output (legislative and non-legislative) has been stable in terms of quantity • Even an increase (+18.1%) in non-legislative output (e.g. Green Papers, Communications)

  4. Comparison of acts adopted by the Prodi and the Barroso Commission

  5. Continuity explained Continuity is mainly due to 2 factors: • More streamlined internal management of the Commission • Avoidance of controversial matters

  6. Avoiding Controversy • Fewer entirely “new” proposals (more amending legislation) • A larger and more diverse College (less collegiality and no voting) • A trend towards “output legitimacy” (“Europe of results”) • A change in the institutional balance (towards the EP, away from the Commission)

  7. Fewer new proposals

  8. A larger College of Commissioners…

  9. …with shorter meetings

  10. More streamlined internal management • A more presidential Commission: • Changed role of president (“primus super pares”) • Increased use of informal coordination mechanisms • A Stronger Secretariat General • Planning as a policy-tool • Impact assessments • No major impact of increased linguistic diversity • No major impact of new staff (so far...)

  11. Summary • 1 May 2004 has not been the watershed that many had predicted • No ‘breakdown’, but continuity comes at a price: • Less collegiality • Less controversial proposals • Avoidance of controversy: • Certainly partly owed to difficult treaty reform process; • BUT: problematic if persistent change (Who will ‘rock the boat’, if the Commission does not do it anymore?) • Too early to make a ‘final verdict’: Consequences of the fall of the Santer Commission (financial controls, Kinnock Reforms) also only showed full impact in 2003/2004

  12. Future Perspectives and Trends • Legislative Action: Subsidiarity? • Alternatives to legislation: Effectiveness & Accountability? • Implementation: Compliance? • Legitimacy: Politisation vs. Expertise? • Treaty of Lisbon: Consequences for Commission (e.g.‘double hat’)?

  13. Thank you Full report The European Commission after Enlargement: Does more add up to less?is available at http://shop.ceps.eu/BookDetail.php?item_id=1620

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