The Commission: boxed in and constrained, but still an engine of integration

Becker, Stefan, Bauer, Michael, Connolly, Sara ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6714-3493 and Kassim, Hussein ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7603-8377 (2016) The Commission: boxed in and constrained, but still an engine of integration. West European Politics, 39 (5). pp. 1011-1031. ISSN 0140-2382

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Abstract

In the debate about the impact of the eurozone crisis on the EU’s institutional balance, antagonists have often argued past each other. Supporters of the new intergovernmentalism contend that the European Council has supplanted the European Commission in policy leadership, while scholars who hold that the EU executive has been a winner of the crisis highlight the new management functions it has acquired. This article argues, first, that an accurate assessment of the institutional balance requires a more global evaluation of the Commission, acknowledging external and internal dynamics. Second, it contends that the crisis did not cause a Commission retreat but accelerated a process already underway that finds its origins in the presidentialisation of policy control. The adoption of fewer legislative proposals during the crisis was due to the ability and choice of a strong president to focus the attention on crisis-related areas. The broader lesson is that rather than marking a further step in the decline of the Commission, the crisis reveals how the centralisation of power within the institution and its expanded management duties have enhanced its capacity to take strategic action. The Commission’s role as an engine of integration will therefore endure, but in a different guise.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	european commission,economic governance,eurozone crisis,new intergovernmentalism
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Norwich Business School Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies (former - to 2024)
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Employment Systems and Institutions Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Policy & Politics Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Competition Policy Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Research on Children and Families
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	08 Apr 2016 16:01
Last Modified:	15 Oct 2024 23:49
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/58177
DOI:	10.1080/01402382.2016.1181870

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