Journal of European Public Policy · 1997 · 115 citations · 0 references
Public AffairsPublic PolicyRegulatory PolicyAgency TheoryLegislative InstitutionsRegulatory GovernanceEuropean IntegrationEuropean PoliticsEuropean Union InstitutionsEuropean Union StudiesRegulationRegulatory InstitutionsAdministrative NetworksBarriersEuropean Union AgenciesEuropean Union Regulatory PoliticsInstitutional NetworksLegislative HarmonizationLevel Playing FieldRegulators
European agencies were created in response to post‑1992 pressures, as legislative harmonization alone could not eliminate trade barriers and direct administrative delegation was politically unacceptable, necessitating convergence of administrative practices. The Community’s strategy is to regulate by networks, bringing together national administrations responsible for a policy to achieve uniformity. European agencies function as network coordinators rather than central regulators. Their limited powers and the essential role of national representatives in their operation reflect this networked approach.
The creation of European agencies is to be viewed as a response to the conflicting pressures to which the European Community is exposed in the post-1992 period. On the one hand, experience has demonstrated that legislative harmonization is not enough to dismantle internal barriers to trade, and that some convergence of administrative practices is necessary to level the playing field. On the other hand, the delegation of direct administrative responsibilities to Community institutions is politically inconceivable, and probably undesirable. Regulation by networks is the Community response to this paradox: by bringing together the various national administrations in charge of a given Community policy, one hopes to achieve the necessary degree of uniformity. European agencies are expected to act as network coordinators, rather than as central regulators. This explains the limited powers which they have been given, as well as the crucial part played by national representatives in their functioning.