The national co-ordination of EU policy. The domestic level

Abstract:

This book is one of two volumes in which leading scholars examine the way in which EU member states co-ordinate their European policies. Eschewing the 'Europeanisation' problematic within which the issue is usually addressed, this book adopts a broader, more inclusive approach. It examines domestic processes and investigates co-ordination in ten member states - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom - looking at co-ordinating ambitions, the actors involved in EU policy making and the structures and processes by which policy is made.

From a comparative perspective, the book identifies and assesses the impact of the influences that have shaped systems of national co-ordination - the demands exerted by Union membership, the institutional structure of the national polity, the pre-existing balance between domestic institutions, administrative norms and values, and attitudes, both popular and elite, to European integration. It assesses the extent to which there has been a convergent response to the administrative challenges posed by membership on the part of the member states or whether a pattern of divergence emerges. The effectiveness of Member States in influencing policy outcomes at the European level is also addressed.

The companion volume answers similar questions about national administrations in Brussels. Looking at twelve Member States, it is the first systematic examination of the role played by Permanent Representations in national EU policy making.

Hussein Kassim is Lecturer in Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London. B. Guy Peters is Maurice Falk Professor of Government, University of Pittsburgh. Vincent Wright, was Official Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.