The EU Better Regulation Agenda: A Critical Assessment (Modern Studies in European Law)

Better Regulation in the EU is a perennial and topical question which has important implications for the future direction of EU law. While actions directed at improving the quality and accessibility of EU regulation are not novel, in recent years the Better Regulation Agenda has significantly affected the structural organisation and day-to-day operation of the EU legislative process. Yet, many questions about the future of the Agenda remain, not least in light of Brexit. Exploring the Better Regulation Agenda (and its relation to the overall EU legal and political order) necessitates an integrated, interdisciplinary approach. This edited volume presents insights from economics, political science and legal scholarship. Furthermore, to allow full understanding, it examines institutional practice, where the Agenda is made and shaped on a daily basis. Hence, the book features contributions from the perspective of the work of the main EU institutions: the European Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the Court of Justice. This results in a seminal overview of the subject, of interest to scholars and practitioners alike. Volume 87 in the Series Modern Studies in European Law Contents Part I: Introduction and State of Play 1. The Multi-faceted Nature of Better Regulation A Semi-permanent Yet Dynamic Feature of EU Law and Policy Democratic and Constitutional Legitimacy Questions The Various Narratives Underlying the EU Better Regulation Agenda The Quality of the Better Regulation Debate Structure of the Book Conclusion 2. Integrating Regulatory Governance and Better Regulation as Reflexive Governance Introduction Better Regulation: Regulatory Governance and Reflexive Governance Reflexive Governance and Better Regulation Better Regulation as Reflexive Governance in the EU Conclusions Part II: A Critical Assessment of the Main Elements of the Better Regulation Agenda 3. Improving the Quality of EU Legislation What is Good EU Legislation: The Theory What is Good EU Legislation: EU Instruments? What is Good Transposing Legislation? Conclusions: What on Earth is Really Wrong and How to Change it 4. Cost-Benefit Analysis and EU Policy CBA and Public Policy: A Never-Ending Academic Debate CBA and the EU Better Regulation Agenda Towards Convergence between ex ante Impact Assessment and ex post Evaluation Methods in the EU? 5. The Better Regulation Agenda and the Deactivation of EU Competences Introduction: The Prevalent Notion of 'Ever Closer Union'? Restoring Tasks to Member States: The Conceptual Framework with the Emphasis on the Deactivation of Competences The Position of Deactivation in the Framework of the Better Regulation Agenda The Better Regulation Agenda and the Deactivation of EU Competences: Empirical Evidence Conclusion Part III: Views from EU Institutional Practice 6. The European Commission and its Better Regulation Agenda Introduction The Origins of Evidence-Based Policy-Making and the Three Pillars of Better Regulation The Past Revisited A New Impulse for Better Regulation: The Juncker Commission Challenges and Myths Is Better Regulation a Left-over from a Bygone Era? A Few Concluding Remarks 7. The European Parliament and the Better Law-Making Agenda What is it All About? The IIA and the Interinstitutional Balance Influencing the Political Agenda: Legislative Programming Could it Have Done Less? 8. The Council Introduction The Historical Road to the Adoption of the 2003 Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making and its Heritage Some Examples from the Council's Most Recent Legislative Practice for Better Regulation after Lisbon, Demonstrating Good Inter-institutional Cooperation The New IIA on Better Law-Making: The Content and a First Brief Assessment Conclusions 9. The Member States and the Better Regulation Agenda Introduction: Better Regulation Intentions towards the Member States by the Juncker Commission Reality Check: More than One Way? Member States and the 'Origin' of Better Regulation The Member States in the Mandelkern Report Subsidiarity Member States' 'Implementation' of Better Regulation Regulatory Policy in Belgium Regulatory Policy in Flanders The Role of Member States in the EU's Better Regulation Debates The Flemish/Belgian Participation in the EU's Better Regulation Debates Some Final Comments 10. From Better Regulation to Better Adjudication? Introduction Impact Assessment, the Rule of Law and the Better Regulation Agenda Impact Assessment in the Court's Review: The Rise of Procedural Proportionality Better Regulation as Better Adjudication? Comparing and Improving the Use of IAs Juridification and Constitutional Limits Conclusion Part IV: Broader Perspectives on the Better Regulation Agenda 11. Eurolegalism and the Better Regulation Agenda Introduction Why EU Regulation is Detailed and Prescriptive Better Regulation as a Failed Public Relations Exercise Conclusion 12. An 'Impact Assessment' of EU Better Regulation Introduction Definition of the Problem(s) The Effectiveness of Better Regulation in Solving the Identified Problem(s) Compared to Alternative Policy Options The Costs and Benefits of EU Better Regulation Conclusion Index Better Regulation in the EU is a perennial and topical question which has important implications for the future direction of EU law. While actions directed at improving the quality and accessibility of EU regulation are not novel, in recent years the Better Regulation Agenda has significantly affected the structural organisation and day-to-day operation of the EU legislative process. Yet, many questions about the future of the Agenda remain, not least in light of Brexit. Exploring the Better Regulation Agenda (and its relation to the overall EU legal and political order) necessitates an integrated, interdisciplinary approach. This edited volume presents insights from economics, political science and legal scholarship. Furthermore, to allow full understanding, it examines institutional practice, where the Agenda is made and shaped on a daily basis. Hence, the book features contributions from the perspective of the work of the main EU institutions: the European Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the Court of Justice. This results in a seminal overview of the subject, of interest to scholars and practitioners alike.-- Provided by Publisher "Better regulation in the EU is a perennial and topical question which has important implications for the future direction of EU law. While actions directed at improving the quality and accessibility of EU regulation are not novel, in recent years the better regulation agenda has significantly affected the structural organisation and day-to-day operation of the EU legislative process. Yet, many questions about the future of the Aagenda remain, not least in light of Brexit. Exploring the better regulation agenda (and its relation to the overall EU legal and political order) necessitates an integrated, interdisciplinary approach. This edited volume presents insights from economics, political science and legal scholarship. Furthermore, to allow full understanding, it examines institutional practice, where the agenda is made and shaped on a daily basis. Hence, the book features contributions from the perspective of the work of the main EU institutions: the European Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the Court of Justice."-- Dust jacket