he creation of European Union agencies is arguably one of the most prominent institutional innovations at the EU level in recent history. Especially since the early 1990s, the EU and its member... Show morehe creation of European Union agencies is arguably one of the most prominent institutional innovations at the EU level in recent history. Especially since the early 1990s, the EU and its member states delegated a wide range of (semi-)regulatory, monitoring, and coordination tasks to a quickly growing number of agencies. Most existing research focuses on the creation of these agencies. As a result, we do not know much about how agencies develop after their creation. EU agencies are formally independent, but do they also behave autonomously in practice? How does actual autonomy vary across EU agencies and how does this affect the role these agencies play in the multi-level system of European governance? This study addresses these questions theoretically and empirically by comparing six EU agencies – the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Environm ent Agency (EEA), the European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), Europol and Eurojust. It shows how some of these agencies develop into relatively autonomous entities by acquiring a distinct organisational character and by generating support from actors in their environment, whereas other agencies do so to a much lesser extent or not at all. Show less
Countries that wish to join the European Union (EU) need to implement all existing EU laws before they are admitted as full members. Since the body of EU law comprises more than 80 000 pages and... Show moreCountries that wish to join the European Union (EU) need to implement all existing EU laws before they are admitted as full members. Since the body of EU law comprises more than 80 000 pages and more than 2 000 directives, the adoption of EU law is a truly formidable task for any government. How have the eight countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) that joined the EU in 2004 coped with this requirement of the enlargement process? Surprisingly, this thesis reveals that these post-communist states have been quite successful in adopting the EU directives. Moreover, there is interesting variation in the performance of the new member states with some countries, like Lithuania, doing particularly well, while other, like the Czech Republic, having more problems than average. The thesis argues that the general success of the process of legal adaptation to EU laws in CEE can be largely explained by the conditionality of the enl argement process (EU entry is only possible if and when the condition of implementing the EU rules is fulfilled). Combing statistical methods and case studies in three policy fields (electronic communications, nature protection, and social policy), the thesis concludes that the varying implementation performance in different countries and policy sectors can be explained by reference to the CEE governments’ level of support for the process of European integration, their administrative capacities and the threat of financial sanctions for non-implementation of the EU rules after accession. Show less
