Images of Agency Governance in the European Union

Bibliographic Data

ID8042004
AuthorsJarle Trondal (0000-0002-6723-7761), Lene Hauge Jeppesen, Lene Jeppesen
Year2008
Volume31
Issue3
Pages417-441
Publication date2008-04-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402380801939636
OpenAlexW2098051434
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited46

Diagnosis of the transformation of executive governance in Europe should incorporate the diverse dynamics of EU-level agencies. Recent years have witnessed comprehensive reform efforts in the European Commission aimed partly at increasing institutional effectiveness and efficiency. One constituent ingredient thereof has been the institution of non-majoritarian EU-level agencies with regulatory and non-regulatory discretionary competences beneath the Community institutions. This article conceptualises theoretically and explores empirically three complementary images of agency governance in the EU. Based on a rich body of survey (N = 265) and interview (N = 29) data among three regulatory and four non-regulatory EU-level agencies, the article demonstrates that EU-level agencies tend to combine the roles as autonomous administrative spaces, multilevel epistemic networks and Community institutions. EU-level regulatory and non-regulatory agencies blend all three images of agency governance. This article thus demonstrates that agency governance is only marginally affected by the regulatory–non-regulatory dichotomy

Agency (philosophy · Business · Commission · Corporate governance · European commission · European union · Institution · International trade · Multi-level governance · Political science · Regulatory agency · Social science · Sociology · Accounting · European Union Policy and Governance · Finance · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Public Administration · Regulation and Compliance Studies