Policy Transfer in European Union Governance: Regulating the utilities (Routledge Advances in European Politics)

This new book presents a clear conceptual framework for understanding the transfer of policy ideas between EU states, together with an empirical study of regulatory change within European utilities. Policy transfer is a new instrument for understanding EU policy-making. This volume shows how the nature of institutions, interdependence between trans-national and national jurisdictions and social systems, relate policy actors across geographical boundaries, identifying four basic types of EU policy transfer and learning: ‘uploading’– how member states compete to shape the EU agenda in line with their own institutional arrangements and policy preferences ‘downloading’– how states adapt to changing EU incentives and constraints ‘socialization’ – how EU policy norms are internalized in the belief systems of domestic actors ‘information exchange’ between national actors in the course of EU interactions leading to a horizontal diffusion of policy ideas. The authors use an institutionalist perspective to show how these forms of policy transfer operate across the diverse systems of governance found across the EU. Policy Transfer in European Union Governance will be of great interest to students and scholars of European Union politics and policy, comparative public policy and political economy.

This new book presents a clear conceptual framework for understanding the transfer of policy ideas between EU states, together with an empirical study of regulatory change within European utilities.

Policy transfer is a new instrument for understanding EU policy-making. This volume shows how the nature of institutions, interdependence between trans-national and national jurisdictions and social systems, relate policy actors across geographical boundaries, identifying four basic types of EU policy transfer and learning:

• ‘uploading’— how member states compete to shape the EU agenda in line with their own institutional arrangements and policy preferences


• ‘downloading’— how states adapt to changing EU incentives and constraints


• ‘socialization’ — how EU policy norms are internalized in the belief systems of domestic actors


• ‘information exchange’ between national actors in the course of EU interactions leading to a horizontal diffusion of policy ideas.

The authors use an institutionalist perspective to show how these forms of policy transfer operate across the diverse systems of governance found across the EU.

Policy Transfer in European Union Governance will be of great interest to students and scholars of European Union politics and policy, comparative public policy and political economy.

"This new book presents a clear conceptual framework for understanding the transfer of policy ideas between EU states, together with an empirical study of regulatory change within European utilities. Policy transfer is a new instrument for understanding EU policy-making. This volume shows how the nature of institutions, interdependence between trans-national and national jurisdictions and social systems relate policy actors across geographical boundaries, identifying four basic types of EU policy transfer and learning."--Résumé de l'éditeur Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 6 Copyright......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Illustrations......Page 10 Preface......Page 11 Acknowledgements......Page 13 Abbreviations......Page 14 Introduction......Page 18 1 EU governance and policy transfer......Page 28 2 The external environment......Page 49 3 Negotiated policy transfer......Page 72 4 EU regulatory regimes......Page 113 5 Domestic regulatory regimes......Page 153 Conclusion......Page 196 Notes......Page 209 References......Page 213 Index......Page 231 The work presents a clear conceptual framework for understanding the transfer of policy ideas between EU states together with an empirical study of regulatory change within European utilities