EU governance

1
EU governance public accountability

• A research agenda
• Mark Bovens, Deirdre Curtin and Marianne van de
  Steeg
• Utrecht School of Governance

2
Background

• Shift national -gt EU policy making
• Debate on democratic deficit
• Focus on public accountability
• Concern no corresponding shifts in
  accountability regimes
• Aim to empirically investigate to what degree
  the rise of EU-governance has been matched by
  correspondent changes in public accountability
  regimes and practices

3
What is accountability?

• Working definition for this research project
• 1. A relationship between an actor and a forum
• 2. In which the actor has an obligation
• 3. To explain and justify
• 4. His conduct
• 5. The forum can pose additional questions
• 6. Pass judgement
• 7. And the actor can be sanctioned

4
Accountability

• Accountability and Transparency
• - Transparency pre-condition for accountability
• Accountability and Responsiveness
• -gt justification of conduct

5
Three research questions

• Formal and informal structures and actual
  practices of (public) accountability
• How can the accountability arrangement be
  assessed from a democratic, constitutional and
  learning perspective?
• 3. Does EU multi-level governance create specific
  problems?

6
EU-Governance

• - Commission accountable to European Parliament
• In relation to which institutions is research
  into accountability most relevant?

• Council

• Committees

• Agencies

7
EU-Council accounting for summits

• - Major policy arena
• - No (political) accountability on EU-level

Research questions

• Descriptive
• Are leaders held accountable on national level?
• Emergent practices?

Evaluative 3. Democratic, constitutional and
learning perspective
8
EU-Council accounting for summits

• Research design
• Accountability for institution building
  (Maastricht Amsterdam Nice Dublin)
• Accountability for crisismanagement (Bosnia BSE,
  Austria 9/11)
• Country selection
• Best practices
• Variation parliamentary systems
• Variation attitude towards EU
• UK, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland

9
Committees Accounting for expert input

• Major role of experts in EU-policy making
• Technocracy Democracy
• Professional Public accountability
• Transparency

10
Committees Accounting for expert input

• Research questions
• Descriptive
• Public accountability of expert input?
• Emergent practices?
• Level of transparency?
• Evaluative
• 4. Democratic, constitutional and learning
  perspective

• Research design
• Mapping expert venues accountability regimes
• In depth analysis of selected arenas

11
Agencies Accounting for non-majoritarian
Institutions

• Increase in number range
• Very limited political accountability
• Innovative diagonal horizontal practices

12
Accounting for agencies

• EU Parliament National Parliaments
• Commission Council
• Court of Justice
• Court of Auditors
• Stakeholders Agencies

13
Agencies Accounting for non-majoritarian
Institutions

• Research questions
• Descriptive
• (Emergent) accountability arrangements?
• Evaluative
• 2. Democratic, constitutional and learning
  perspective

• Research design
• Mapping agencies arrangements
• In depth analysis selected cases

14
Institutional perspective

• Assessment of adequacy of detected accountability
  arrangements
• What kind of polity is the EU?
• Sui generis
• Intergovernmental
• Federal or confederal
• Other?