Abstract
The 2015 Better Regulation Reform is recognized as one of the key changes of Juncker’s European Commission, but its political implications remain understudied. Despite its appearance as a seemingly technical evaluation system, we present the reform as a political instrument that enhances the strategic actorness of the Commission, both internally and vis-à-vis the member states. Drawing on primary documents and 16 expert interviews with senior Commission officials, we demonstrate that the Better Regulation Reform enhances the Commission’s ability to act as a unified actor (internal coherence) and contributes to its ability to justify its actions vis-à-vis the member states (external robustness). The article contributes to the literature on international public administration in general and the EU in particular, as it demonstrates how institutional policies may enhance bureaucratic influence. We reveal how an international public administration can conform to member statesʼ demands for more accountability and transparency yet design the overall evaluation system in a way that contributes to its strategic actorness.
Zusammenfassung
Obwohl die Reform für bessere Rechtssetzung (Better Regulation Reform) aus dem Jahr 2015 als eine der wichtigsten Errungenschaften der Juncker-Kommission gesehen wird, sind ihre politischen Auswirkungen kaum untersucht. Für viele erscheint die Reform, in deren Zentrum ein neues Evaluationssystem von Rechtssetzungsakten steht, als hoch technokratisch. Im Kern der vorliegenden Analyse steht dagegen der politische Nutzen der Better Regulation Reform für die Kommission, sowohl intern als auch gegenüber den Mitgliedstaaten. Basierend auf Primärdokumenten und 16 Experteninterviews zeigen wir, wie die Better Regulation Reform die Kommission dazu befähigt, intern als einheitlicher Akteur aufzutreten (interne Kohärenz) und Gesetzesvorhaben gegenüber Mitgliedstaaten zu legitimieren (externe Belastbarkeit). Die Studie leistet damit einen Beitrag zum Forschungsstand, zu internationalen Verwaltungen im Allgemeinen und zur EU im Speziellen. Unsere Erkenntnisse legen dar, dass institutionelle Politiken wie Evaluationssysteme den Einfluss von Verwaltungen stärken können, indem sie einerseits Mitgliedstaaten Zugeständnisse für mehr Rechenschaft und Transparenz machen, andererseits aber so ausgestaltet werden, dass sie den strategischen Interessen der Verwaltung dienen.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
While the previous Barroso Commission is also described to be “politically astute” (Kassim et al. 2016, p. 661), its own positioning was more careful. By contrast, the Juncker Commission has clearly declared to be a political rather than merely a technocratic actor (Juncker 2014a; see also Peterson 2017; Koronakis 2019; Tömmel 2018).
For the full guidelines of the BRR see European Commission (2017b).
The term ‘influence’ is understood as “having an effect” on IO policy-making (Eckhard and Ege 2016, p. 964.).
For a comprehensive Better Regulation Toolbox see European Commission (2017a).
The limitations and potential biases of our approach are highlighted in the discussion section (Sect. 6).
In the following, insights from the interviews are quoted and numbered as ‘I-No.’; interview numbers are listed in Table 2 in the online appendix.
The ‘evaluate first’ principle has been first introduced by the Barroso Commission and later scrutinized by the 2015 Better Regulation guidelines (European Commission 2017a, p. 9).
RSB’s opinions are made public. It is rather an exception that the Commission pushes an initiative which got several negative opinions from the RSB.
The European Parliament’s research service, for instance, routinely checks the Commission’s impact assessments (Anglmayer 2016, p. 5).
References
Anglmayer, Irmgard. 2016. Evaluation and ex-post impact assessment at the EU level. Briefing. PE 581.415. European Parliamentary Research Service. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/581415/EPRS_BRI(2016)581415_EN.pdf. Accessed 28 Jan 2019.
Azzam, Tarek. 2010. Evaluator responsiveness to stakeholders. American Journal of Evaluation 31(1):45–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214009354917.
Barnett, Michael, and Martha Finnemore. 2004. Rules for the world: international organizations in global politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Bauer, Michael W., and Jörn Ege. 2016. Bureaucratic autonomy of international organizations’ secretariats. Journal of European Public Policy 23(7):1019–1037. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2016.1162833.
Bauer, Michael W., and Jörn Ege. 2017. A matter of Will and action. The bureaucratic autonomy of international public administrations. In International bureaucracy. Challenges and lessons for public administration research, ed. Michael W. Bauer, Christoph Knill, and Steffen Eckhard. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Bauer, Michael W., Jörn Ege, and Stefan Becker. 2018. The European Commission and the disintegration of europe. Taking stock and looking ahead. In The European Commission in turbulent times. Assessing organizational change and policy impact, ed. Jörn Ege, Michael W. Bauer, and Stefan Becker, 9–29. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Bauer, Michael W., Christoph Knill, and Steffen Eckhard (eds.). 2017. International bureaucracy. Challenges and lessons for public administration research. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Biermann, Frank, and Bernd Siebenhüner (eds.). 2009. Managers of global change. The influence of international environmental bureaucracies. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Bjornholt, Bente, and Flemming Larsen. 2014. The politics of performance measurement. ‘Evaluation use as mediator for politics’. Evaluation 20(4):400–411. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389014551485.
Bovens, Mark, Paul Hart, and Sanneke Kuipers. 2006. The politics of policy evaluation. In The Oxford Handbook of Public Policy, ed. Michael Moran, Martin Rein, and Robert E. Goodin, 319–335. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
Carbone, Maurizio. 2013. Between EU actorness and aid effectiveness. The logics of EU aid to Sub-Saharan Africa. International Relations 27(3):341–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117813497300.
Cini, Michelle. 2007. From Integration to Integrity. Administrative Ethics and Reform in the European Commission. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Cox, Robert W. 1969. The executive head. An essay on leadership in international organization. International Organization 23(2):205–230.
Cox, Robert W., and Harold K. Jacobson. 1973. The anatomy of influence. Decision making in international organization. New Haven, London: Yale University Press.
Cram, Laura. 1993. Calling the Tune Without Paying the Piper? Social policy regulation: the role of the Commission in European Community social policy. Policy & Politics 21(2):135–146. https://doi.org/10.1332/030557393782453899.
Eckhard, Steffen, and Jörn Ege. 2016. International bureaucracies and their influence on policy-making. A review of empirical evidence. Journal of European Public Policy 23(7):960–978. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2016.1162837.
Eckhard, Steffen, and Vytautas Jankauskas. 2019. The politics of evaluation in international organizations. A comparative study of stakeholder influence potential. Evaluation 25(1):62–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389018803967.
Eckhard, Steffen, Ronny Patz, and Sylvia Schmidt. 2018. Reform efforts, synchronization failure, and international bureaucracy: the case of the UNESCO budget crisis. Journal of European Public Policy https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2018.1539116.
European Commission. 2015. Decision of the President of the European Commission on the establishment of an independent Regulatory Scrutiny Board. C(2015) 3263 final. Strasbourg.
European Commission. 2017a. Better regulation toolbox. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/better-regulation-toolbox_2.pdf. Accessed 21 Jan 2019.
European Commission. 2017b. Better Regulation Guidelines. Commission Staff Working Document. SWD (2017b) 35. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/better-regulation-guidelines.pdf. Accessed 18 Jan 2019.
European Commission. 2019a. Commission staff. https://ec.europa.eu/info/about-european-commission/organisational-structure/commission-staff_en. Accessed 13 May 2019.
European Commission. 2019b. Explaining the commission work programme. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/cwp_2019_explained_factsheet_en_1.pdf. Accessed 12 Aug 2019.
European Commission. 2019c. Regulatory scrutiny board. https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-making-process/regulatory-scrutiny-board_en. Accessed 22 Jan 2019.
Goetz, Klaus H., and Ronny Patz. 2017. Resourcing international organizations. Resource diversification, organizational differentiation, and administrative governance. Global Policy 8(2):5–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12468.
Graham, Erin R. 2014. International organizations as collective agents. Fragmentation and the limits of principal control at the world health organization. European Journal of International Relations 20(2):366–390. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066113476116.
Hall, Peter A., and Rosemary C. R. Taylor. 1996. Political science and the three new Institutionalisms. Political Studies 44(5):936–957. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.1996.tb00343.x.
Hanrieder, Tine. 2015. International Organization in Time. Fragmentation and Reform. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Haverland, Markus, Minou de Ruiter, and Steven van de Walle. 2018. Agenda-setting by the European Commission. Seeking public opinion? Journal of European Public Policy 25(3):327–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2016.1249014.
Hawkins, Darren, David A. Lake, Daniel L. Nielson, and Michael J. Tierney. 2006a. Delegation under anarchy: states, international organizations, and principal-agent theory. In Delegation and Agency in International Organizations, ed. Darren G. Hawkins, David A. Lake, Daniel L. Nielson, and Michael J. Tierney, 3–38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hawkins, Darren G., David A. Lake, Daniel L. Nielson, and Michael J. Tierney (eds.). 2006b. Delegation and agency in international organizations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Højlund, Steven. 2014a. Evaluation use in evaluation systems—the case of the European Commission. Evaluation 20(4):428–446. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389014550562.
Højlund, Steven. 2014b. Evaluation use in the organizational context—changing focus to improve theory. Evaluation 20(1):26–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389013516053.
Hooghe, Liesbet, and Gary Marks. 2015. Delegation and pooling in international organizations. The Review of International Organizations 10(3):305–328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-014-9194-4.
Johnson, Kelli, Lija O. Greenseid, Stacie A. Toal, Jean A. King, Frances Lawrenz, and Boris Volkov. 2009. Research on evaluation use. A review of the empirical literature from 1986 to 2005. American Journal of Evaluation 30(3):377–410. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214009341660.
Jordan, Andrew, Michael W. Bauer, and Christoffer Green-Pedersen. 2013. Policy dismantling. Journal of European Public Policy 20(5):795–805.
Jörgens, Helge, Nina Kolleck, and Barbara Saerbeck. 2016. Exploring the hidden influence of international treaty secretariats. Using social network analysis to analyse the Twitter debate on the ‘Lima Work Programme on Gender’. Journal of European Public Policy 23(7):979–998. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2016.1162836.
Juncker, Jean-Claude. 2014a. A new start for Europe. My agenda for jobs, growth, fairness and democratic change. Political guidelines for the next European commission. Strasbourg. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/juncker-political-guidelines-speech_en.pdf. Accessed 25 Jan 2019.
Juncker, Jean-Claude. 2014b. The Juncker commission: the right team to deliver change. Press conference (10 September). European Commission. Brussels. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-14-585_en.htm. Accessed 16 Jan 2019.
Kassim, Hussein, Sara Connolly, Renaud Dehousse, Olivier Rozenberg, and Selma Bendjaballah. 2016. Managing the house. The Presidency, agenda control and policy activism in the European Commission. Journal of European Public Policy 24(5):653–674. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2016.1154590.
Knill, Christoph, Louisa Bayerlein, Jan Enkler, and Stephan Grohs. 2019. Bureaucratic influence and administrative styles in international organizations. Review of International Organizations 14(1):83–106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-018-9303-x.
Knill, Christoph, Steffen Eckhard, and Michael W. Bauer. 2017. International Public Administration. A new type of bureaucracy. der moderne staat (dms) 2:173–189.
Knill, Christoph, Steffen Eckhard, and Stephan Grohs. 2016. Administrative styles in the European Commission and the OSCE Secretariat. Striking similarities despite different organizational settings. Journal of European Public Policy 23(7):1057–1076. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2016.1162832.
Koronakis, Alexandros. 2019. Juncker on “political” Commission. New Europe. https://www.neweurope.eu/article/juncker-on-political-commission/. Accessed 15 Aug 2019.
Lascoumes, Pierre, and Patrick Le Galès. 2007. Introduction: understanding public policy through its instruments? From the nature of instruments to the sociology of public policy instrumentation. Governance 20(1):1–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0491.2007.00342.x.
Leeuw, Frans L., and Jan-Eric Furubo. 2008. Evaluation systems. What are they and why study them? Evaluation 14(2):157–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389007087537.
Mastenbroek, Ellen, Stijn van Voorst, and Anne Meuwese. 2016. Closing the regulatory cycle? A meta evaluation of ex-post legislative evaluations by the European Commission. Journal of European Public Policy 23(9):1329–1348. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2015.1076874.
Merry, Sally Engle. 2011. Measuring the world. Indicators, human rights, and global governance. Current Anthropology 52(S3):S83–S95. https://doi.org/10.1086/657241.
Meuwese, Anne, and Suren Gomtsian. 2015. Regulatory scrutiny of subsidiarity and proportionality. Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 22(4):483–505. https://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X1502200402.
Patz, Ronny, and Klaus H. Goetz. 2019. Managing money and discord in the UN. Budgeting and bureaucracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Peterson, John. 2017. Juncker’s political European Commission and an EU in crisis. Journal of Common Market Studies 55(2):349–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12435.
Princen, Sebastiaan, and Mark Rhinard. 2006. Crashing and creeping. Agenda-setting dynamics in the European Union. Journal of European Public Policy 13(7):1119–1132. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760600924233.
Radaelli, Claudio M. 1999. The public policy of the European Union. Whither politics of expertise? Journal of European Public Policy 6(5):757–774. https://doi.org/10.1080/135017699343360.
Radaelli, Claudio M., and Anne Meuwese. 2010. Hard questions, hard solutions. Proceduralisation through impact assessment in the EU. West European Politics 33(1):136–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402380903354189.
Raimondo, Estelle. 2018. The power and dysfunctions of evaluation systems in international organizations. Evaluation 24(1):26–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389017749068.
Rimkute, Dovile, and Markus Haverland. 2015. How does the European Commission use scientific expertise? Results from a survey of scientific members of the Commission’s expert committees. Comparative European Politics 13(4):430–449.
RSB. 2018. European Commission evaluation. Better integration into policy cycle. Presentation during an expert workshop on evaluation in the EU in January, Brussels, Belgium. Regulatory Scrutiny Board.
Schout, Adriaan, and Christian Schwieter. 2018. Two decades of Better Regulation in the EU Commission. Towards evidence-based policymaking? Clingendael. https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/PB_Better_regulation.pdf. Accessed 19 Aug 2019.
Steinebach, Yves, and Christoph Knill. 2017. Still an entrepreneur? The changing role of the European Commission in EU environmental policy-making. Journal of European Public Policy 24(3):429–446. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2016.1149207.
Stockmann, Reinhard, Wolfgang Meyer, and Hanna Schenke. 2011. Independence of evaluations. Zeitschrift für Evaluation 10(1):39–67.
Taylor, David, and Susan Balloch (eds.). 2005. The politics of evaluation. Participation and policy implementation. Bristol: The Policy Press.
Tömmel, Ingeborg. 2018. Political leadership in turbulent times. The commission presidency of Jean-Claude Juncker. In The European Commission in turbulent times. Assessing organizational change and policy impact, ed. Jörn Ege, Michael W. Bauer, and Stefan Becker, 133–157. Baden-Baden: Nomos.
Trondal, Jarle, Martin Marcussen, Torbjorn Larsson, and Frode Veggeland. 2010. Unpacking international organisations. The dynamics of compound bureaucracies. Manchester: Manchester University Press. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/alltitles/docDetail.action?docID=10623344. Accessed 17 Aug 2019.
van Voorst, and Stijn. 2017. Evaluation capacity in the European Commission. Evaluation 23(1):24–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389016680877.
Wegrich, Kai. 2015. Which results? Better regulation and institutional politics. European Journal of Risk Regulation 6(3):369–371. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1867299X00004773.
Weiss, Carol H. 1993. Where politics and evaluation research meet. Evaluation Practice 14(1):93–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/109821409301400119.
Weiss, Carol H. 1998. Have we learned anything new about the use of evaluation? American Journal of Evaluation 19(1):21–33.
Wendon, Bryan. 1998. The Commission as image-venue entrepreneur in EU social policy. Journal of European Public Policy 5(2):339–353. https://doi.org/10.1080/135017698344027.
Wildavsky, Aaron. 1972. The Self-Evaluating Organization. Public Administration Review 32(5):509–520.
Wonka, Arndt. 2007. Technocratic and independent? The appointment of European Commissioners and its policy implications. Journal of European Public Policy 14(2):169–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501760601122241.
Yanow, Dvora. 2000. Conducting Interpretive Policy Analysis. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Caption Electronic Supplementary Material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jankauskas, V., Eckhard, S. International Bureaucracies as Strategic Actors: How the Better Regulation Reform Strengthens the European Commission. Polit Vierteljahresschr 60, 681–699 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-019-00189-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11615-019-00189-3