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The Uploading of National Policies in the European Union

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The Uploading of National Policies in the European Union THE UPLOADING OF NATIONAL POLICIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION by Emilie Blais B.A. Honors in Political Science, Concordia University, 2003 M.A. in Public Policy and Public Administration, Concordia University, 2006 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2015 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Emilie Blais It was defended on June 23rd, 2015 and approved by Alberta M. Sbragia, Professor, Department of Political Science Despina Alexiadou, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science Martin Staniland, Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh Dissertation Advisor: B. Guy Peters, Professor, Department of Political Science ii Copyright © by Emilie Blais 2015 iii THE UPLOADING OF NATIONAL POLICIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION Emilie Blais, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2015 This research addresses questions of policy transfer, specifically, policy uploading – the upward transfer of national policies to the European level. It contributes to three bodies of literature, namely, institutional theory, new governance, and European Union politics. The questions it addresses are why and how European Union member countries use the Council Presidency to upload their national policies, and what are the conditions needed for policy uploading to be successful. To answer these questions I use the case studies method and compare the Council Presidencies of the United Kingdom (2005), France (2008), the Czech Republic (2009), Sweden (2009), and Belgium (2010). For each case, specific national policies are looked at and I use process-tracing to identify the variables at play for successful uploading to occur. Based on qualitative data, I find that the reasons explaining why countries attempt to upload their national policies during their Council Presidency supports what has been identified in the literature on venue shopping. In addition, many variables are important in explaining the occurrence of successful policy uploading. First, the country holding the Council Presidency needs to have the intent to upload its national policy and be committed to it, and it needs to be considered a superior option to the status quo. Second, being able to set the agenda, to shape policy content as well as possess a strong policy capacity contribute to the successful uploading of national policies. Although other variables may not be necessary for successful policy uploading to occur, they strongly influence it. The legal format the policy will take once it is iv adopted influences the willingness the other Member have to make compromises. The distinction is made between soft law and hard law modes of governance. Another variable making the uploading of national policy easier is the convergence of interests on the proposal. This is true under all decision-making rules, but it is especially significant under more restrictive decision- making rules such as unanimity. Finally, the stage at which the proposal is presented matters. The success cases in this study have taken place at the beginning of the EU policy process. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... XI DEDICATION........................................................................................................................... XII PREFACE ................................................................................................................................. XIII 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 THE FINDINGS IN BRIEF ................................................................................ 7 1.2 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY............................................................... 10 2.0 CONCEPTUAL AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ....................................... 12 2.1 (NEW) GOVERNANCE AND NEW INSTITUTIONALISM IN THE EUROPEAN UNION CONTEXT ..................................................................................... 13 2.2 POLICY-MAKING AND THE ISSUE OF POLICY CAPACITY AND AGENDA-SETTING .......................................................................................................... 17 2.3 INSTITUTIONAL SETTING .......................................................................... 21 2.4 LITERATURE ON EU PRESIDENCIES, POLICY-MAKING AND AGENDA-SETTING .......................................................................................................... 25 2.5 NATIONAL EXECUTIVES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ........................ 27 2.6 UPLOADING POLICIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ............................ 29 2.7 RESEARCH DESIGN ....................................................................................... 34 vi 2.7.1 Summary on the Selection of Cases ............................................................. 38 3.0 FRANCE 2008 COUNCIL PRESIDENCY ............................................................. 43 3.1 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................... 44 3.2 NATIONAL CONTEXT AND COORDINATION OF EUROPEAN POLICY ............................................................................................................................. 45 3.3 THE EUROPEAN PACT ON IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM ................ 47 3.3.1 Domestic Bases: French Immigration Policy .............................................. 47 3.3.2 Pre-EU Presidency Preparation Period ....................................................... 51 3.3.3 EU Presidency Term ..................................................................................... 64 3.3.4 Analysis ........................................................................................................... 67 3.4 THE ENERGY AND CLIMATE PACKAGE ................................................ 74 3.4.1 Domestic Bases: The French Environmental Policy .................................. 74 3.4.2 Pre-EU Presidency Preparations ................................................................. 76 3.4.3 EU Presidency Term ..................................................................................... 78 3.4.4 Analysis ........................................................................................................... 82 3.5 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 84 4.0 THE CZECH REPUBLIC 2009 COUNCIL PRESIDENCY ................................ 89 4.1 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................... 90 4.2 NATIONAL COORDINATION OF EUROPEAN POLICY ........................ 93 4.3 ENERGY SECURITY POLICY ...................................................................... 96 4.3.1 Czech State Energy Policy ............................................................................ 97 4.3.2 Promoting Energy Security at the European Level ................................. 100 4.3.3 Analysis ......................................................................................................... 106 vii 4.4 IMMIGRATION POLICY ............................................................................. 108 4.4.1 Czech Immigration Policy ........................................................................... 108 4.4.2 Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) – EU Level ............................................ 110 4.4.3 Analysis ......................................................................................................... 112 4.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 112 5.0 SWEDEN 2009 COUNCIL PRESIDENCY .......................................................... 115 5.1 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................. 116 5.2 NATIONAL CONTEXT AND COORDINATION OF EUROPEAN POLICY ........................................................................................................................... 117 5.3 THE ACTIVE LABOUR MARKET POLICIES: SHAPING THE RENEWED LISBON STRATEGY (EUROPE 2020) ................................................... 119 5.3.1 At the National Level: The Swedish Labour Market Model ................... 119 5.3.2 At the European Level: Influencing Europe 2020 .................................... 124 5.3.3 Analysis ......................................................................................................... 131 5.4 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: PROMOTING AN ECO-EFFICIENT FRAMEWORK TO ADOPT ‘GREEN’ POLICY INSTRUMENTS .......................... 133 5.4.1 Environmental Policy in Sweden ................................................................ 133 5.4.2 Towards European and International Negotiations on Environmental Policy ....................................................................................................................... 135 5.4.3 Analysis ......................................................................................................... 140 5.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 141 6.0 THE UNITED KINGDOM 2005 COUNCIL PRESIDENCY AND THE 2010 BELGIUM COUNCIL PRESIDENCY .................................................................................
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