The role of committees in the policy-process of the European Union. Legislation, implementation and deliberation

Abstract:
This book provides a comprehensive account of the role of the advisory, legislative and implementation committees involved in the policy-making process of the European Union. This is an aspect of EU politics that is often overlooked and remains under-researched, even though such committees can have wide-ranging influence in the policy-process.

The group of international scholars contributing to this volume are all experts in their field, coming from different disciplinary backgrounds including political science, law and public administration. The volume combines contributions to a discussion of the normative issues arising from the nature of ‘committee governance’ in the EU with more empirical contributions on the role of committees in each of the stages of the EU policy-process: policy-preparation, legislative decision-making, policy-implementation and adjudication. The result is a text that provides not only a thorough overview of the role of committees in the EU today but also contributes to a deeper understanding of the nature of European governance.

The Role of Committees in the Policy-Process of the European Union will be of interest to final year undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers of European studies and politics. Practitioners, NGOs and lobbyists involved in the work of the EU will all find this a useful book.

Contents:
1. Introduction: The Role of Committees in the Policy-Process of the European Union - Thomas Christiansen and Torbjörn Larsson
2. Committees and the Nature of Deliberative Supranationalism in the EU - Torbjörn Larsson
3. Forms of Informal Governance: Searching for Efficiency and Democracy - B. Guy Peters
4. The Commission’s Relations with Expert Advisory Groups - Torbjörn Larsson and Jan Murk
5. Council Working Groups: Spaces for Sectorized European Policy Deliberation - Eve Fouilleux, Jacques de Maillard and Andy Smith
6. The Role of Committees and Working Groups in the CFSP Area - Simon Duke
7. The Role of European Parliament Committees in the EU Policy-Making Process - Christine Neuhold and Pierpaolo Settembri
8. The Role of Implementing Committees - Guenther F. Schaefer and Alexander Türk
9. Comitology and the EP’s Scrutiny of Commission Implementing Acts: Real Parliamentary Control? - Pamela Lintner and Beatrice Vaccari
10. The Role of the European Court of Justice in the Area of Comitology - Alexander Türk
11. Conclusion - Thomas Christiansen, Torbjörn Larsson and Guenther F. Schaefer