British devolution and European policy-making. Transforming Britain into multi-level governance

Abstract:

The programme of constitutional reform announced by the Blair government on election to power in 1997 represented the most significant constitutional reform to affect territorial politics of the UK since the Great Reform Act of 1832. The next great 'constitutional' challenge to face the Blair Government might well be the formation of a European Constitution. This work to some extent explores the impact of the former on the latter and wider issues of European policy-making within the UK government.

The book is organised over seven chapters in all, including a comprehensive Introduction and Conclusion. Chapter two presents the background and the way in which UK European policy was formulated prior to devolution. The response of the devolved administrations in Cardiff and Edinburgh and the central government in Whitehall to their changed role in the UK-EU process is examined in chapter three. Moving from the executive level response to the assemblies themselves, chapter four explores the challenges that faced them in accessing the EU governance system and the development of appropriate mechanisms to deal with those issues. The impact of devolution on the formation of EU policy in the specific sectors of agriculture and environment are examined in chapter five. The devolution process provided for the devolved administrations to establish their own direct representation at Brussels and chapter six discusses how these relationships developed. Chapter seven provides the conclusion of the work and reviews the arguments played out in earlier chapters, concluding with proposals for continuing reform of UK European policy-making in the aftermath of devolution.

The book will interest students and academics engaged in the fields of European Studies and Constitutional Politics.