The Role of EU Agencies in the Eurozone and Migration Crisis : Impact and Future Challenges

The Eurozone and migration crises exposed severe gaps in the administrative capacity of the EU. This fine volume offers an insightful interdisciplinary and comparative analysis of how EU Agencies were strengthened in response. -Frank Schimmelfennig, ETH Zürich, Switzerland The proliferation, design and accountability of EU agencies is the focus of a vibrant academic debate. The editors have assembled a timely and stellar volume, which widens the research agenda on EU agencies. -Berthold Rittberger, Ludwig Maximilian Universität München, Germany In the literature on the crises that have beset the EU, the role of agencies has often been overlooked. This volume fills that gap, but it also does a lot more. Combining insights from legal scholars and political scientists, it contributes to important and topical debates about the role of agencies in EU governance. -Hussein Kassim, Professor of Politics, University of East Anglia, UK, and ESRC Senior Fellow 'The UK in a Changing Europe' This book provides a wealth of empirical material to understand key aspects of EU governance including its plurality of actors and policy making modes and its functioning during crisis management. Authored by legal scholars and political scientists, it presents new research and insights on the role of EU agencies in the context of the Euro and migration crises. Specifically, the contributions assess why the crises have led to the creation of new EU agencies and what roles these agencies have performed since their inception; how the crisis, notably the migration crisis, has impacted on existing EU agencies; how EU agencies have shaped the policies during and after the crises; and, how the crisis has affected the accountability of EU agencies. This book is essential in understanding the intricacies of EU crisis management and the specific role of EU agencies therein, as well as EU governance more broadly. Johannes Pollak is Professor of International Relations and European Politics at Webster Vienna Private University, Austria, as well as senior research fellow at the Vienna Institute for Advanced Studies. Peter Slominski is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science/Centre for European Integration Research (eif) at the University of Vienna, Austria. Chapter 9 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com Praise for The Role of EU Agencies in the Eurozone and Migration Crisis 6 Contents 8 Notes on Contributors 10 List of Figures 15 List of Tables 16 Part I Introduction 17 1 EU Agencies in Times of Crisis: An Introduction 18 1 Introduction 18 2 The EU’s Two Make or Break Moments: The Eurozone and the Migration Crisis 19 3 Creation and Strengthening of EU Agencies in the Wake of Crises 21 3.1 Agencies in the Financial and Banking Sector 24 3.2 EU Agencies in the Field of Migration, Asylum and Border Policy 26 4 Conclusion 27 References 31 2 EU Agencies and the Politicized Administration 35 1 Introduction: A ‘Fever’ of Agency Creation 35 2 In-Betweeners: The Tensions of an Evolutionary Polity 39 3 An Incomplete Constitutionalisation? 41 3.1 Formal Recognition 41 3.2 Constitutional Gap 43 4 Delegation of Powers to EU Agencies 45 4.1 Meroni and ESMA 45 4.2 Impact of ESMA 47 4.3 More Powers to Agencies? 49 4.4 Facilitating the Emergence of a Politicised Administration 50 5 Independence and Accountability: A Sufficient Corrective? 51 5.1 Independence 52 5.2 Control and Accountability 55 6 Conclusion: The Politicised Administration 58 References 60 Part II Agencies and the Eurozone Crisis 66 3 Fit for Purpose or Drowning in Details? Institutional Evolution of the European Financial Sector Supervisory Authorities a Decade After the Global Financial Crisis 67 1 Introduction 67 2 The Institutional Evolution of EU Financial Sector Regulation 69 3 The Increasing Powers of ESMA 71 4 Analytical Framework: The Far-Reaching Effects of Incremental Institutional Change 72 5 Incremental Institutional Upgrading of the European Supervisory Authorities: The Case of ESMA 74 6 Challenges by the EU Member States: CJEU Case C-270/12 About EU Short Selling Rules 82 7 Conclusion 84 References 84 4 The Supervisory Board of the ECB: An Agency-Like Body to Stabilise the Banking Sector? 90 1 Introduction 90 2 Legal Basis and Tasks/Powers 92 3 Composition 94 4 Independence 97 5 Accountability 101 6 Assessment and Outlook 105 References 108 5 The Single Resolution Board: Salient Features, Peculiarities and Paradoxes 113 1 Agencies in Brief 113 2 Resolution Actions 115 3 Framework 116 4 Powers 118 5 Independence 120 6 Resolution Colleges and Relationship with EBA 123 7 Legal Personality 126 8 International Cooperation 127 9 Recognition and Enforcement of Third Country Proceedings 129 10 Conclusion 131 References 132 6 The Single Resolution Board: What About Accountability? 136 1 Introduction 136 2 Agencies in the EU Financial Sector: Contours of Political and Judicial Accountability 140 3 Holding Power to Account: The Case of the Single Resolution Board 145 3.1 Political Accountability: Grappling with “Parliamentary Knowledge”, “Closed-Doors” and Limited Member State-Engagement 145 3.2 Judicial Accountability: Coping with the Limits of Judicial Review 149 4 Conclusions 152 References 154 Part III EU Agencies and the Migration Crisis 158 7 The European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex After the Migration Crisis: Towards a ‘Superagency’? 159 1 Frontex and the Migration Crisis 159 2 The Need for a European Integrated Border Management: An Agency Is Born 161 2.1 State of Research 163 2.2 Frontex’s Mandate Before the Migration Crisis of 2015–2016 164 3 Frontex’s Evolution: Towards a ‘Superagency’? 167 3.1 How the Migration Crisis Impacted on Frontex: The Critical Juncture 167 3.2 The Role of the New European Border and Coast Guard Agency: A Path Dependent Process? 170 3.2.1 The Reform of 2016 171 3.2.2 The Reform of 2019 174 4 Conclusion: Frontex Caught Between Borders 176 References 178 8 Beyond the ‘Migration Crisis’: The Evolving Role of EU Agencies in the Administrative Governance of the Asylum and External Border Control Policies 183 1 Introduction 183 2 The Expanded Mandate of FRONTEX and EASO: Beyond Support 185 2.1 Patterns of Joint Implementation: An Emerging Integrated European Administration? 188 2.2 Monitoring-like Functions: Effectively Supplementing the European Commission? 192 2.3 Functions with Steering Potential: From Indirect to Innovative Steering Processes? 196 3 Key Challenges in an Evolving Administrative Landscape 199 3.1 Balancing Joint Implementation and Supervision 201 3.2 Ensuring Fundamental Rights Oversight and Accountability 202 3.3 Squaring Internal Governance Structures and Independence 205 4 Conclusion 208 References 209 9 Interagency Relations and the EU Migration Crisis: Strengthening of Law Enforcement Through Agencification? 212 1 Introduction 212 2 EU JHA Agencies: The Early Years of Interagency Relations 214 2.1 Gradual Formalization of Interagency Cooperation 215 2.2 Fields of Activity of Interagency Cooperation Before the 2015 Migration Crisis 218 2.3 Fundamental Rights Mainstreaming Through Interagency Cooperation? 220 3 Consolidation of Interagency Cooperation During the 2015 Migration Crisis 223 3.1 Stepping-Up Interagency Cooperation: The Case of EU Hotspots 224 4 Conclusions 228 References 230 Index 235 The Eurozone and migration crises exposed severe gaps in the administrative capacity of the EU. This fine volume offers an insightful interdisciplinary and comparative analysis of how EU Agencies were strengthened in response. -Frank Schimmelfennig, ETH Zürich, Switzerland The proliferation, design and accountability of EU agencies is the focus of a vibrant academic debate. The editors have assembled a timely and stellar volume, which widens the research agenda on EU agencies. -Berthold Rittberger, Ludwig Maximilian Universität München, Germany In the literature on the crises that have beset the EU, the role of agencies has often been overlooked. This volume fills that gap, but it also does a lot more. Combining insights from legal scholars and political scientists, it contributes to important and topical debates about the role of agencies in EU governance. -Hussein Kassim, Professor of Politics, University of East Anglia, UK, and ESRC Senior Fellow 'The UK in a Changing Europe' This book provides a wealth of empirical material to understand key aspects of EU governance including its plurality of actors and policy making modes and its functioning during crisis management. Authored by legal scholars and political scientists, it presents new research and insights on the role of EU agencies in the context of the Euro and migration crises. Specifically, the contributions assess why the crises have led to the creation of new EU agencies and what roles these agencies have performed since their inception; how the crisis, notably the migration crisis, has impacted on existing EU agencies; how EU agencies have shaped the policies during and after the crises; and, how the crisis has affected the accountability of EU agencies. This book is essential in understanding the intricacies of EU crisis management and the specific role of EU agencies therein, as well as EU governance more broadly. Johannes Pollak is Professor of International Relations and European Politics at Webster Vienna Private University, Austria, as well as senior research fellow at the Vienna Institute for Advanced Studies. Peter Slominski is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science/Centre for European Integration Research (eif) at the University of Vienna, Austria. Chapter 9 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 EU Agencies in Times of Crisis: An Introduction (Johannes Pollak, Peter Slominski)....Pages 3-19 EU Agencies and the Politicized Administration (Michelle Everson, Ellen Vos)....Pages 21-51 Front Matter ....Pages 53-53 Fit for Purpose or Drowning in Details? Institutional Evolution of the European Financial Sector Supervisory Authorities a Decade After the Global Financial Crisis (Aneta B. Spendzharova)....Pages 55-77 The Supervisory Board of the ECB: An Agency-Like Body to Stabilise the Banking Sector? (Paul Weismann)....Pages 79-101 The Single Resolution Board: Salient Features, Peculiarities and Paradoxes (Nicola Ruccia)....Pages 103-125 The Single Resolution Board: What About Accountability? (Marta Božina Beroš, Marin Beroš)....Pages 127-148 Front Matter ....Pages 149-149 The European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex After the Migration Crisis: Towards a ‘Superagency’? (Vittoria Meissner)....Pages 151-174 Beyond the ‘Migration Crisis’: The Evolving Role of EU Agencies in the Administrative Governance of the Asylum and External Border Control Policies (Evangelia (Lilian) Tsourdi)....Pages 175-203 Interagency Relations and the EU Migration Crisis: Strengthening of Law Enforcement Through Agencification? (Chiara Loschi, Peter Slominski)....Pages 205-227 Back Matter ....Pages 229-233