Isomorphism of national policies? The 'Europeanisation' of German competition and public procurement law

West European Politics

Volumn 23, Issue 1, 2000, Pages 89-107

  Lodge, Martin ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

COMPETITION; NATIONAL PLANNING; POLICY MAKING;

EUROPE;

EID: 0034000157     PISSN: 01402382     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/01402380008425353     Document Type: Article

References (64)

1. C. Hood, The Art of the State (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1998) pp.194-221.
2. S. Bulmer and M. Burch, 'Organizing for Europe: Whitehall, The British State and European Union', Public Administration 76/4 (1998) pp.601-628.
3. For example, S. Bulmer, 'The Governance of the European Union: A New Institutionalist Approach', Journal of Public Policy 13/4 (1993) pp.351-80; S. Bulmer 'New Institutionalism and the Governance of the Single European Market', Journal of European Public Policy 5/3 (1998) pp.365-86; S. Mix 'Approaches to the Study of the EC: The Challenge to Comparative Politics', West European Politics 17/1 (Jan. 1994) pp.1-30; S. Hix 'The Study of the European Union II: A 'New Governance' Agenda and its Rival', Journal of European Public Policy 5/1 (1998) pp.38-65; J. Peterson, 'Decision-Making in the European Union: Towards a Framework of Analysis', idem 2/1 (1994) pp.69-94; A. Stone Sweet and W. Sandholtz, 'Integration, Supranational Governance, and the Institutionalization of the European Polity', in W. Sandholtz and A. Stone Sweet (eds.) European Integration and Supranational Governance (Oxford: OUP 1998).
4. For example, S. Bulmer, 'The Governance of the European Union: A New Institutionalist Approach', Journal of Public Policy 13/4 (1993) pp.351-80; S. Bulmer 'New Institutionalism and the Governance of the Single European Market', Journal of European Public Policy 5/3 (1998) pp.365-86; S. Mix 'Approaches to the Study of the EC: The Challenge to Comparative Politics', West European Politics 17/1 (Jan. 1994) pp.1-30; S. Hix 'The Study of the European Union II: A 'New Governance' Agenda and its Rival', Journal of European Public Policy 5/1 (1998) pp.38-65; J. Peterson, 'Decision-Making in the European Union: Towards a Framework of Analysis', idem 2/1 (1994) pp.69-94; A. Stone Sweet and W. Sandholtz, 'Integration, Supranational Governance, and the Institutionalization of the European Polity', in W. Sandholtz and A. Stone Sweet (eds.) European Integration and Supranational Governance (Oxford: OUP 1998).
5. For example, S. Bulmer, 'The Governance of the European Union: A New Institutionalist Approach', Journal of Public Policy 13/4 (1993) pp.351-80; S. Bulmer 'New Institutionalism and the Governance of the Single European Market', Journal of European Public Policy 5/3 (1998) pp.365-86; S. Mix 'Approaches to the Study of the EC: The Challenge to Comparative Politics', West European Politics 17/1 (Jan. 1994) pp.1-30; S. Hix 'The Study of the European Union II: A 'New Governance' Agenda and its Rival', Journal of European Public Policy 5/1 (1998) pp.38-65; J. Peterson, 'Decision-Making in the European Union: Towards a Framework of Analysis', idem 2/1 (1994) pp.69-94; A. Stone Sweet and W. Sandholtz, 'Integration, Supranational Governance, and the Institutionalization of the European Polity', in W. Sandholtz and A. Stone Sweet (eds.) European Integration and Supranational Governance (Oxford: OUP 1998).
6. For example, S. Bulmer, 'The Governance of the European Union: A New Institutionalist Approach', Journal of Public Policy 13/4 (1993) pp.351-80; S. Bulmer 'New Institutionalism and the Governance of the Single European Market', Journal of European Public Policy 5/3 (1998) pp.365-86; S. Mix 'Approaches to the Study of the EC: The Challenge to Comparative Politics', West European Politics 17/1 (Jan. 1994) pp.1-30; S. Hix 'The Study of the European Union II: A 'New Governance' Agenda and its Rival', Journal of European Public Policy 5/1 (1998) pp.38-65; J. Peterson, 'Decision-Making in the European Union: Towards a Framework of Analysis', idem 2/1 (1994) pp.69-94; A. Stone Sweet and W. Sandholtz, 'Integration, Supranational Governance, and the Institutionalization of the European Polity', in W. Sandholtz and A. Stone Sweet (eds.) European Integration and Supranational Governance (Oxford: OUP 1998).
7. For example, S. Bulmer, 'The Governance of the European Union: A New Institutionalist Approach', Journal of Public Policy 13/4 (1993) pp.351-80; S. Bulmer 'New Institutionalism and the Governance of the Single European Market', Journal of European Public Policy 5/3 (1998) pp.365-86; S. Mix 'Approaches to the Study of the EC: The Challenge to Comparative Politics', West European Politics 17/1 (Jan. 1994) pp.1-30; S. Hix 'The Study of the European Union II: A 'New Governance' Agenda and its Rival', Journal of European Public Policy 5/1 (1998) pp.38-65; J. Peterson, 'Decision-Making in the European Union: Towards a Framework of Analysis', idem 2/1 (1994) pp.69-94; A. Stone Sweet and W. Sandholtz, 'Integration, Supranational Governance, and the Institutionalization of the European Polity', in W. Sandholtz and A. Stone Sweet (eds.) European Integration and Supranational Governance (Oxford: OUP 1998).
8. For example, S. Bulmer, 'The Governance of the European Union: A New Institutionalist Approach', Journal of Public Policy 13/4 (1993) pp.351-80; S. Bulmer 'New Institutionalism and the Governance of the Single European Market', Journal of European Public Policy 5/3 (1998) pp.365-86; S. Mix 'Approaches to the Study of the EC: The Challenge to Comparative Politics', West European Politics 17/1 (Jan. 1994) pp.1-30; S. Hix 'The Study of the European Union II: A 'New Governance' Agenda and its Rival', Journal of European Public Policy 5/1 (1998) pp.38-65; J. Peterson, 'Decision-Making in the European Union: Towards a Framework of Analysis', idem 2/1 (1994) pp.69-94; A. Stone Sweet and W. Sandholtz, 'Integration, Supranational Governance, and the Institutionalization of the European Polity', in W. Sandholtz and A. Stone Sweet (eds.) European Integration and Supranational Governance (Oxford: OUP 1998).
9. C. Albert-Roulhac, 'The Influence of EU Membership on Methods and Processes of Budgeting in Britain and France, 1970-1995', Governance 11/2 (1998) pp.209-30; C. Knill, 'European Policies: The Impact of National Administrative Traditions', Journal of Public Policy 18/1 (1998) pp.1-28; A. Héritier, 'Market-Making Policy in Europe: Its Impact on Member State Policies. The Case of Road Haulage in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy', Journal of European Public Policy 4/4 (1997) pp.539-55.
10. C. Albert-Roulhac, 'The Influence of EU Membership on Methods and Processes of Budgeting in Britain and France, 1970-1995', Governance 11/2 (1998) pp.209-30; C. Knill, 'European Policies: The Impact of National Administrative Traditions', Journal of Public Policy 18/1 (1998) pp.1-28; A. Héritier, 'Market-Making Policy in Europe: Its Impact on Member State Policies. The Case of Road Haulage in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy', Journal of European Public Policy 4/4 (1997) pp.539-55.
11. C. Albert-Roulhac, 'The Influence of EU Membership on Methods and Processes of Budgeting in Britain and France, 1970-1995', Governance 11/2 (1998) pp.209-30; C. Knill, 'European Policies: The Impact of National Administrative Traditions', Journal of Public Policy 18/1 (1998) pp.1-28; A. Héritier, 'Market-Making Policy in Europe: Its Impact on Member State Policies. The Case of Road Haulage in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy', Journal of European Public Policy 4/4 (1997) pp.539-55.
12. P.J. DiMaggio and W.W. Powell, 'Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality', in W. W. Powell and P. J. DiMaggio (eds.) The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis (Chicago: Chicago UP 1991).
13. L. McGowan and S. Wilks, 'The First Supranational Policy in the European Union: Competition Policy', European Journal of Political Research 28/2 (1995) pp.141-69.
14. D.J. Gerber, Law and Competition in Twentieth Century Europe: Protecting Prometheus (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1998) p.38.
15. K. Armstrong and S. Bulmer, The Governance of the Single European Market (Manchester UP 1998) p.138.
16. See C. Bennett, 'What is Policy Convergence and What Causes it?', British Journal of Political Science 21/2 (1991) pp.215-33.
17. See B. Silberman, Cages of Reason - The Rise of the Rational State in France, Japan, the United States and Great Britain (U. of Chicago Press 1993).
18. DiMaggio and Powell (note 5) p.66.
19. Ibid. p.67.
20. Ibid. p.68.
21. For example, see W. Sandholtz, 'Institutions and Collective Action: The New Telecommunications in Western Europe', World Politics 45/1 (1993) pp.24-70.
22. DiMaggio and Powell (note 5) p.69.
23. D.E. Westney, Imitation and Innovation: The Transfer of Western Organizational Patterns to Meiji Japan (Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP 1987); G. Lehmbruch, 'From State of Authority to Network State: The German State in Developmental Perspective', in F. Naschold and M. Muramatsu (eds.) State and Administration in Japan and Germany (Berlin: de Gruyter 1995).
24. D.E. Westney, Imitation and Innovation: The Transfer of Western Organizational Patterns to Meiji Japan (Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP 1987); G. Lehmbruch, 'From State of Authority to Network State: The German State in Developmental Perspective', in F. Naschold and M. Muramatsu (eds.) State and Administration in Japan and Germany (Berlin: de Gruyter 1995).
25. C. Knill and D. Lehmkuhl, 'An Alternative Route to Legal Integration: The Community's Railway Policy', in this issue of West European Politics pp.65-88.
26. DiMaggio and Powell (note 5) p.70.
27. W. Wessels and D. Rometsch, 'German Administrative Interaction and European Union: The Fusion of Public Policies', in Y. Meny, P. Muller and J-L. Quermone (eds.) Adjusting to Europe (London: Routledge 1996).
28. W. Wessels, 'An Ever Closer Fusion? A Dynamic Macropolitical View on Integration Processes', Journal of Common Market Studies 35/2 (1997) pp.267-99.
29. K.H. Goetz, 'Integration policy in a Europeanized state: Germany and the Intergovernmental Conference', Journal of European Public Policy 3/1 (1996) p.23.
30. P.A. Sabatier, 'The Advocacy Coalition Framework: Revisions and Relevance for Europe', Journal of European Public Policy 5/1 (1998) pp.98-130.
31. H. Kassim and A. Menon, 'The European Union and State Autonomy', in H. Kassim and A. Menon (eds.) The European Union and National Industrial Policy (London: Routledge 1996).
32. For a detailed account of European competition policy, see M. Cini and L. McGowan, Competition Policy in the European Union (London: Macmillan 1998).
33. Cini and McGowan (note 24) pp.66-9.
34. S. Bulmer, 'Institutions and Policy Change in the European Communities: The Case of Merger Control', Public Administration 72/3 (1994) pp.423-44.
35. See S. Weatherhill and P. Beaumont, EC Law (London: Penguin 1995), 2nd edition, pp.806-28. The thresholds for notification are that the aggregate world-wide turnover of the merged firms exceeds ECU 5bn, and that at least two of the undertakings involved have an aggregate turnover of at least ECU 250 million. The EC regulation does not apply to mergers where each of the parties derives two-thirds of its EU business in a single member state.
36. See, e.g. W. Eucken, Grundsätze der Wirtschaftspolitik (Tübingen: Mohr 1990/orig. 1952).
37. See V. Berghahn, The Americanisation of West German Industry (Leamington Spa: Berg 1986) pp. 155-81.
38. D. Wolf, 'Maastricht Zwei. Eine europäische Behörde für den Wettbewerb', Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 5 Nov. 1994.
39. For example, Volkswagen's use of state aids, subsidies for the mining industry and East German plants, the German-Austrian fixed book price agreement, the recycling law on reusable packaging for drinks and the dual waste system.
40. J. Schütz, 'Die Monopolkommission und die GWB-Reform', Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb 46/9 (1996) pp. 689-97.
41. Wissenschaftlicher Beirat, 'Stellungnahme', Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb 46/10 (1996) p.812.
42. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft, Referenten-Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Reform des Gesetzes gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen, July 1997.
43. BDI Stellungnahme zum Regierungsentwurf der 6. GWB-Novelle (Köln: BDI 28. 11. 1997); BDI Stellungnahme (Köln: BDI 10.2. 1998).
44. BDI Stellungnahme zum Regierungsentwurf der 6. GWB-Novelle (Köln: BDI 28. 11. 1997); BDI Stellungnahme (Köln: BDI 10.2. 1998).
45. BT 13/10633 Beschlussempfehlung und Bericht des Ausschusses für Wirtschaft (9. Ausschuss) zu dem Gesetzesentwurf der Bundesregierung BT 13/9720 (Bonn: Deutscher Bundestag 6 May 1998).
46. These are condition cartels (agreements on business, delivery and payment, but not on pricing), specialisation cartels (allowing producers to agree on producing merely a limited range of goods), rationalisation cartels (allowing syndicate-like agreements to improve the competitiveness of firms), structural crisis cartels (allowing capacities to be reduced following a substantial fall in demand, including reductions in investment, quotas and prices) and Mittelstand-cartels (allowing co-operation of medium-sized companies to rationalise various business tasks). Previous exemption clauses for export and import cartels as well as for discount cartels were eliminated.
47. The BDI particularly criticised the inclusion of the criteria of 'significant impact on competition' into the ex-ante regime, pointing out that it was unknown to EC law.
48. Following pressure from the BDI and the liberal FDP, the Christian Democrats consented to eliminate the criterion of 'suspected market dominance' from the merger control provisions. Although the government intended to eliminate similar provisions from the rules regulating 'dominant positions', the 'suspected market dominance' clauses were reintroduced after intervention by the Social Democrats.
49. Market share measured in turnover of the top ten food retailers has increased from 61.7 per cent in 1990 to 83.6 per cent in 1997 (figures supplied by the Markenverband to Ausschuss für Wirtschaft, Wortprotokoll der öffentlichen Anhörung zum Gesetzesentwurf der Bundesregierung, Protocol no. 79, [Bonn: Deutscher Bundestag 1998] p.243).
50. It is, nevertheless, argued that the law has been strengthened by introducing a general ex-ante approach in merger control as well as being legally clearer.
51. Interview with senior official, German Federal Economics Ministry, Bonn, June 1998.
52. Monopolkommission, Marktöffnung umfassend verwirklichen - 12. Hauptgutachten der Monopolkommission (Berlin: Monopolkommission 1998) (condensed edition) p.5.
53. K. Armstrong and S. Bulmer (note 8) pp.117-43.
54. See O. Reidt, 'Subventionen und Abgaben, Realförderung', in H.D. Jarass (ed.) Wirtschaftsverwaltungsrecht (Neuwied: Luchterhand 1997). These rules apply to tenders which pass a threshold above ECU 5 million for public works and ECU 200,000 for other public procurement contracts. ECU 400,000 if the tender concerns the water, energy and transport sectors, ECU 600,000 if it concerns telecommunications. ECU 200,000 for 'other' public procurement contracts and ECU 5 million for public works contracts.
55. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 26 April 1995.
56. Reidt (note 45) p.181.
57. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 5 March 1996. Until 30 Nov. 1996, 946 requests were made for investigations into procurement decisions, 95 of them led to alterations in procurement decisions. The federal Vergabeüberwachungsausschuss was called upon 45 times, the issue was referred to the ECJ in two cases and in eight cases the investigation led to the conclusion that the procurement process had been illegal. See BT 13/7137 Antwort der Regierung auf die Grosse Anfrage der Abgeordneten Ernst Schwanhold, Anke Fuchs (Köln), Hans Berger, weiterer Abgeordneter und der Fraktion der SPD - BT 13/5913 (Bonn: Deutscher Bundestag 5 March 1997).
58. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 5 March 1996. Until 30 Nov. 1996, 946 requests were made for investigations into procurement decisions, 95 of them led to alterations in procurement decisions. The federal Vergabeüberwachungsausschuss was called upon 45 times, the issue was referred to the ECJ in two cases and in eight cases the investigation led to the conclusion that the procurement process had been illegal. See BT 13/7137 Antwort der Regierung auf die Grosse Anfrage der Abgeordneten Ernst Schwanhold, Anke Fuchs (Köln), Hans Berger, weiterer Abgeordneter und der Fraktion der SPD - BT 13/5913 (Bonn: Deutscher Bundestag 5 March 1997).
59. See BT 13/7137; Gröning, H (1996), 'Zum aktuellen Stand der Diskussion um das deutsche Vergaberecht', Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb, 46(7-8) pp.566-70.
60. The US firms General Electric and Westinghouse complained against discrimination by the east German energy provider Vereinigte Energiewerke in a bidding process for the construction of two power plants. A German investigation found that procedural mistakes had not influenced the outcome.
61. BT 13/9340 Gesetzentwurf der Bundesregierung zum Gesetz zur Änderung der Rechtsgrundlagen für die Vergabe öffentlicher Aufträge (Bonn: Deutscher Bundestag, 3 Dec. 1997).
62. BT 13/10328 Beschlussempfehlung und Bericht des Ausschusses für Wirtschaft (9. Ausschuss) zu dem Gesetzesentwurf der Bundesregierung BT 13/9340 (Bonn: Deutscher Bundestag, 1 April 1998).
63. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 15 Sept. 1997.
64. BT 13/9720 Entwurf eines Sechsten Gesetzes zur Änderung des Gesetzes gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen (Bonn: Deutscher Bundestag, 29 Jan. 1998).