Bulletin n. 1/2008
May 2008
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Blom-Hansen Jens
    The origins of the EU comitology system: a case of informal agenda-setting by the Commission
    in Journal of European Public Policy , Volume 15 Issue 2 2008 ,  2008
    The 2-300 comitology committees monitor the EU Commission's use of delegated powers. Why should there be this unique and peculiar solution to a parliamentary control problem that is well known from all national political systems? This article argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the exact choice of comitology can only be explained by the actions of the Commission. The idea of comitology was introduced by the Commission, and it functioned as a focal point in the member states' negotiations on supranational administration in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The argument is substantiated in an analysis of the first uses of comitology within three widely different EU policy areas: agriculture, development aid, and customs policy. The general lesson is that the EU Commission can be an important informal agenda-setter in areas where it has no formal powers.
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