Complying with EU directives' requirements: the link between EU decision-making and the correct transposition of EU provisions

Abstract

The implementation of EU policies has hardly been studied from the perspective of the actual performance of national policy-makers. The present study fills the gap of EU policy implementation research by analysing member states' correct transposition of the provisions of different EU directives. Hypotheses are formulated on the relationship between characteristics of the process and outcome of EU decision-making and the transposition performance of member states. Member states' incentives to deviate, conflict in the Council, as well as characteristics of the adopted EU decisions, such as discretion and complexity, are expected to influence compliance with different EU requirements. Hypotheses are tested on the transposition performance of 15 member states regarding 136 EU provisions. The analyses reveal that member states are likely to act upon their incentives to deviate during the implementation process, and use their freedom of manoeuvre to achieve compliance with the EU requirements.