Administrative Integration through the Back Door? The Role and Influence of the European Commission in Transgovernmental Networks within the Environmental Policy Field

Abstract: In the EU there is a trend towards developing informal networks between the European Commission and national regulatory agencies. Changes in character of the states' public administrations serve as a background for understanding these developments, a distinctive feature being the 'agencification' of the administrative apparatus during the last decades. This article focuses on how the role of the European Commission can be understood within these networks. The main finding is that the Commission is playing a proactive role, able to use the networks as a back road to the informal harmonization of regulatory practices. It is argued that it is able to do this mainly because it is perceived as a credible institution with expertise and overview, assets that have become even more important in EU-27. It is argued further that the influence of the Commission is conditioned by certain factors at the national level, such as 'noviceness' and 'administrative capacity'. It is concluded that it is necessary to take into account institutional features both at the national and European levels in order to understand the multifaceted role of the Commission within this specific institutional setting.