Politics and the European Commission: Actors, Interdependence, Legitimacy

ISBN-13: 9780415429726 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 248 str.

Smith, Andy

Opis

The European Commission is an organization which has come to fascinate or repulse a range of national politicians, journalists and social scientists. In contrast to the prevailing image of the Commission as a 'bureaucrat's paradise', however, and by using the results of original research, this book deliberately sets out to investigate this organization's relationship to politics. It does so first by developing a variety of case-studies (health, development aid, preparations for Eastern enlargement, etc.) as a means of studying the relationships, networks and interdependencies which link commissioners and Commission officials to national politicians, civil servants and interest groups. Second, by looking in detail at how the Commission publicizes its work, notably through producing public information and liaising with the media, fresh light is shone upon the complex question of the Commission's legitimacy. Politics and the European Commission provides a framework for generating new information about, and interpretations of, the power struggles at the heart of the EU.

Spis treści

Introduction Andy Smith Part 1: Actors, Institutions and Interdependence 1. Doing politics and Pretending Not To:The Commission's role in distributing aid to Eastern Europe Cécile Robert 2. The Politics of Collegiality: The non-portfolio dimension Jean Joana and Andy Smith 3. The Secretary General of the European Commision, 1958-2003: The history of a singular institution Hussein Kassim 4. The Political Dynamics of the 'Parallel Administration' of the European Commision Jarle Trondal 5. The Invention of a Directorate General for Development (1958-75) Véronique Dimier 6. Institutionalizing Public Health in the European Commision: The thrills and spills of politicization Sébastien Guigner Part 2: The Media, the Commision and its Legitimacy 7. Was it Really just 'Poor Communication'?: Lessons from Santa Commision's resignation Didier Georgakakis 8. The Politics of the Commision as an Information Source Olivier Baisnée 9. Advertising Europe: The production of public information by the Commision François Forêt 10. Publicising the Euro: A case of interest maximisation and internal fragmentation of the Commision Jeannette Mak 11. Where is he now? The Delors Legacy Helen Drake Conclusion Andy Smith

O autorze

Andy Smith is Senior Research Fellow in Political Science at the CERVL, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Bordeaux. He has been working on three themes related to European integration: public policy-making; the college of the European Commission; and the effect of Europe on the daily life of the general public.