EU policy-making in federal states: The case of Belgium

Article abstract:

By taking several EU directives as case studies, this article first evaluates the Belgian co-ordination system at the domestic and EU level and then examines the extent to which the state achieved its policy objectives at the EU level on the particular directives. The article indicates that despite the inherent difficulties and inefficiencies of the Belgian co-ordination system, this had no effect on the ability of the state to achieve its policy objectives at the EU level. In fact, it was other non-organisational factors that determined the extent to which Belgium was successful or not at the EU level. This challenges the conventional wisdom of scholars in the field of policy co-ordination who argue that there is a direct link between the internal organisation of a state and its ability to achieve its objectives at the EU level. It also raises questions on the validity of the neo-institutionalist perspective, which posits that efficient institutions do matter as far as the attainment of a state's policy objectives