Comitology: Little procedures with big implications

West European Politics

Volumn 20, Issue 3, 1997, Pages 31-60

  Dogan, Rhys ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH   (United Kingdom)

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EID: 0002427549     PISSN: 01402382     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/01402389708425204     Document Type: Article

References (81)

1. The focus of the present study lies with the committees of national experts which operate within the Commission, and the comitology debate concerns the extent to which these committees enable the member states to influence Commission decisions about the implementation of EU legislation. Comitology should, therefore, be distinguished from the committees and working parties of national officials within the Council of Ministers which assist the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) to assess the Commission's formal legislative proposals.
2. 'Council Decision 87/373/EEC of 13 July 1987 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission', OJ L 197, 18/07/87, p.33.
3. Commission of the European Communities, 'Conferment of Implementing Powers on the Commission', Communication from the Commission to the Council, Brussels, 10 Jan. 1991 - SEC(90)2589 final.
4. 'Decision 819/95/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union of 14 March 1995 establishing a community action program SOCRATES', OJ L 87, 20/04/95, p. 10, executed implementation of funds totalling ECU 850 million through comitology Procedure IIb.
5. 'Council Directive 94/67/EC of 16 Dec 1994 on the incineration of hazardous waste', OJ L 365, 31/12/94, p.34.
6. 'Council Regulation EC/1798/94 of 18 July 1994 opening and providing for the administration of community tariff quotas for certain agricultural products originating in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia and establishing the detailed provisions for adopting these quotas (1994-97)', OJ L 189, 23/07/94, p. 1.
7. 'Council Regulation EC/4064/89 of 21 December 1989 on the control of concentrations between undertakings', OJ L 395, 30/12/89, p.l.
8. Neil Nugent, Government and Politics of the European Union, 3rd ed. (London: Macmillan 1995) pp.109-12.
9. Legal and rational choice analysis of comitology are provided as follows: Kieran St. Clair Bradley, 'Comitology and the Law: Through the Looking Glass, Darkly', Common Market Law Review 29 (1992) pp.693-721; Bernard Steunenberg, Christian Koboldt and Dieter Schmidtchen, 'Beyond comitology: a comparative analysis of implementation procedures with parliamentary involvement', (Network on Enlargement and New Membership of the European Union) NEMEU Working Paper 96-6, University of Twente, the Netherlands (1996).
10. Legal and rational choice analysis of comitology are provided as follows: Kieran St. Clair Bradley, 'Comitology and the Law: Through the Looking Glass, Darkly', Common Market Law Review 29 (1992) pp.693-721; Bernard Steunenberg, Christian Koboldt and Dieter Schmidtchen, 'Beyond comitology: a comparative analysis of implementation procedures with parliamentary involvement', (Network on Enlargement and New Membership of the European Union) NEMEU Working Paper 96-6, University of Twente, the Netherlands (1996).
11. The research does not include analysis of the Safeguard Procedures IVa and IVb. However, as these procedures were used extremely infrequently, and largely in relation to the external trade policy, their exclusion does not unduly affect the overall analysis.
12. The term 'inherited comitology' relates to comitology procedures from previous legislative acts adopted as the implementation mechanism for new pieces of legislation Thus, certain acts do not specify comitology in terms of the various Procedures outlined in Council Decision 87/373 of 13 July 1987, but merely indicate that implementation measures should be adopted according to the procedure outlined in a particular article of a previous piece of legislation. Although a minor point, this practice serves to make the comitology procedures especially opaque, as determination of the actual procedure requires reference to the initial, previous legislation, and all subsequent amendments. Identification of these inherited procedures is also, further obsfugated by the wide variety of expressions used in different legislative acts to indicate inherited comitology.
13. Wolfgang C. Müller and Vincent Wright (eds.), Special Issue on The State in Western Europe: Retreat or Redefinition? West European Politics 17/3 (July 1994). [Also in book form from Frank Cass Publishers 1994.]
14. The debate over comitology was first raised by the European Parliament in the Stobel Report of 1962 (EP Resolution at OJ 17/01/62) and has continued almost continuously ever since, see: the Jozeau-Marigne Report of 1968 (EP Doc 115 of 30/09/68), the Paris meeting of the European Council in 1974 (EC Bull. No. 12, 1974), the Spierenburg Report (EC Bull. No. 9, 1979) and the Report of the Three Wise Men in 1979. the Rey Report in 1980 (EP Doc. 1-71/80), the Commission's paper on institutional relations - Restoring the Balance - in 1981 (EC Bull. No. 3, 1982), Parliament's guidelines for the 1983 Budget (OJ C 125, 17/05/82, p. 127), the Solemn Declaration of the Stuttgart European Council in 1983 (EC Bull. No. 6, 1983), the Boserup Report of 1983 (EP Doc. 1-446/83), the Tyrrell Report of 1984 (EP Doc. 1-205/84), the Parliament's Resolutions on the 1985 and 1991 Intergovernmental Conferences (OJ C 35, 17/02/86, p. 144 & OJ C 96, 17/04/90, p. 114), the Hänsch Reports of 1986 (EP Doc. A2-78/86 and EP Doc. A2-138/86), the Martin and Roumeliotis Reports of 1990 (EP Doc A3-0047/90 and EP Doc A3-0310/90), the de Giovanni Report of 1993 (EP Doc A3-0417/93) and the Bourlanges and de Giovanni Report of 1995 (EP Doc. A4-0003/95).
15. EEC Treaty, 1957, as amended, Butterworths Guide to the European Communities (London: Butterworths 1989) p. 180.
16. Ibid. p178.
17. Ibid, p.190.
18. Case 16/88, 'Judgment of the Court of 24 Oct. 1989: Commission of the European Communities v. Council of the European Communities', European Court Reports [1989] ECR 3457.
19. Article 206b of the EEC Treaty, as amended by Art. 17 of the Financial Provisions Treaty of 1975, Butterworths Guide (note 14) p. 193.
20. 'Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 4 March 1975', OJ C 89, 22/04/75, p. 1.
21. The First Declaration included in the Final Act of the Single European Act states that 'the Conference requests the Council to give the Advisory Committee procedure a predominant place ... for the exercise of the powers of implementation conferred on the Commission within the field of Article 100A of the EEC Treaty'.
22. Commission Communication of 10 Jan. 1991, SEC(90)2589 final (note 3) p.2.
23. The application of Lowi's typology to the European Union is undertaken in depth at Mark A. Pollack, 'Creeping Competence: The Expanding Agenda of the European Community', Journal of Public Policy, 14/2 (1995) pp.95-145.
24. European Parliament, Report drawn up on behalf of the Legal Affairs Committee on Committees for the Adaptation of Directives to Technical and Scientific Progress, Document No. 1-205/84 of 5 May 1984, Rapporteur: Mr Alan R. Tyrrell.
25. 'Burnt by the steak'. The Economist 6 April 1996, p.27.
26. Stephen Wilks with Lee McGowan, 'Competition Policy in the European Union: Creating a Federal Agency?', in G. Bruce Doern and Stephen Wilks (eds.) Comparative Competition Policy: National Institutions in a Global Market (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1996) p.238-9.
27. Stephen Wilks and Lee McGowan, 'Disarming the Commission: The Debate over a European Cartel Office', Journal of Common Market Studies 32/2 (June 1995) p.265.
28. This figure rises to a still modest 24 per cent of all legislation outside the areas of exclusive Union competence - agriculture, competition and commercial policy. Commission of the European Communities, Celex: Justis CD-Rom, Disc 1, Version CEN 8.2.1, Issued 9/95, Context Electronic Publishers Ltd.
29. Ibid.
30. 'Council Decision 89/237/EEC of 14 March 1989 on a specific research and technological development programme in the filed of industrial manufacturing technologies and advanced materials applications (BRITE/EURAM)(1989 to 1992)', OJ L 98, 11/04/89, p.18
31. 'Decision 818/95/EC of the European Parliament and Council of 14 March 1995 adopting the third phase of the 'Youth for Europe' programme', OJ L 87, 20/04/95, p.1
32. 'Council Decision 89/489/EEC of 28 July 1989 establishing an action programme to promote foreign language competence in the European Community (LINGUA)', OJ L 158, 11/06/92, p.34.
33. 'Council Decision 91/394/EEC of 9 July 1991 adopting a specific research and technological development programme in the field of information technologies (1990 to 1994)', OJ L 218, 06/08/91, p.22.
34. In order to preserve the integrity of the longitudinal trend, the data included in Fig. 4 as 'New Comitology under Majority Vote (under Articles 100a, 113 and 189c)' excludes the four separate procedures enacted in 'Council Regulation EEC/2082/93 of 20 July 1993 concerning the structural funds'. OJ L 193, 31/07/93, p.20.
35. European Parliament, 'Resolution on the executive powers of the Commission (comitology) and the role of the Commission in the Community's external relations', OJ C 19, 28/01/91, p.274.
36. The Commission made additional proposals for three further new Procedure IIIb Committees, but these were trade-related legislation outside the purview of the EP.
37. European Parliament, 'Resolution amending a Proposal for a Council Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste', OJ C 194, 19/07/93, p. 174.
38. European Parliament, 'Resolution adopting a specific research and technological development programme in the filed of communications technology', OJ C 158. 17/06/91, p.59, and 'Resolution on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions and amending Directive 77/789/EEC', OJ C 323, 27/12/89, p.56.
39. European Parliament, 'Resolution adopting a specific research and technological development programme in the filed of communications technology', OJ C 158. 17/06/91, p.59, and 'Resolution on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions and amending Directive 77/789/EEC', OJ C 323, 27/12/89, p.56.
40. European Parliament, 'Resolution on nutrition labelling for foodstuffs', OJ C 175, 16/07/90, p.76.
41. Commission Communication of 10 Jan. 1991, SEC(90)2589 final (note 3) p.7.
42. Ibid.
43. Ibid. p.10.
44. This commitment was recorded in European Parliament, 'Resolution on the Proposal for a Regulation laying down the procedures for the exercises of implementing powers conferred on the Commission', OJ C 297, 24/11/86, p.94.
45. EP Resolution on the executive powers of the Commission (note 34) p.274.
46. The highest levels of restrictive comitology were found in Company Law and JHA, however the low number of cases in these sectors makes the correlation statistically insignificant. Nevertheless, there are significant numbers of cases in the named sectors.
47. Council of the European Communities, 'Explanatory Memorandum', Common Position adopted by the Council on 18/12/87 with a view to the adoption of a Council Directive on the inspection and verification of the organizational processes and conditions under which laboratory• studies are planned, performed, recorded and reported for the non-clinical testing of chemicals (Good Laboratory Practice) p.3. EP Document C2-273/87.
48. European Parliament, 'Explanatory Statement', Second Reading Recommendation of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection concerning the common position of the Council with a view to the adoption of a directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses, EP Document No. A2-29/89 of 29 March 1989, Rapporteur: Mrs M. Jepsen, p.6.
49. Commission of the European Communities, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to Article 149(2b) of the EEC Treaty: Common Position of the Council on a proposal for a Council Directive on nutrition labelling of foodstuffs. SEC (90) 469 final - SYN 155, 8 March 1990, p. 4. EP Document, C3-74/90.
50. Commission of the European Communities. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament in accordance with Article 149(2b) of the EEC Treaty: Common Position of the Council on the Regulation on the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community: SEC(90) 1358 final - SYN 241, 5 July 1990, p. 3, EP Document No. C3-195/90.
51. This may also serve to explain the higher rate of restrictive comitology tolerated by the EP and Commission between 1989 and 1993.
52. Anne-Marie Burley and Walter Mattli, 'Europe before the Court: A Political Theory of Legal Integration' International Organization 47/1 (Winter 1991) pp.41-76; Joseph M. Grieco, 'The Maastricht Treaty, Economic and Monetary Union and the neo-realist research programme'. Review of International Studies 21/1 (Jan. 1995) pp.21-40.
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54. Ernst B. Haas, The Uniting of Europe (Stanford UP 1958) and Leon N. Lindberg, The Political Dynamics of European Economic Integration (ibid. 1963)
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75. M. A. Utton, 'The Economics of Regulating Industry', Special Issue of Fiscal Studies 5/1 (1984); Robert Baldwin and Christopher McCrudden, Regulation and Public Law (London: Weidenfeld 1987); and, Leigh Hancher and Michael Moran (eds.). Capitalism, Culture and Economic Regulation (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1989).
76. Majone, 'Rise of Regulatory State' (note 63) pp.91-2.
77. Kenneth Dyson, 'Cultural issues and the single European market: barriers to trade and shifting attitudes'. Political Quarterly 64/1 (1994) pp. 84-98; C. Crouch and W. Streeck (eds.), Modern Capitalism or Modern Capitalisms (London: Pinter 1996).
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80. Vincent Wright, 'The Administrative System and Market Regulation in Western Europe: Continuities, Exceptionalism and Convergence', Rivista trimestrale de diritto pubblico 4 (1992) pp. 1026-41.
81. Andrew Hurrell and Anand Menon, 'Politics Like Any Other? Comparative Politics, International Relations and the Study of the EU', West European Politics 19/2 (April 1996) pp.386-402.