Department of Political and Social Sciences THE IMPACT OF IMPLEMENTING EASTERN ENLARGEMENT: CHANGING THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S ACTION CAPACITY Eva Gabriele Heidbreder Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Florence, October, 2008 EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE Department of Political and Social Sciences THE IMPACT OF IMPLEMENTING EASTERN ENLARGEMENT: CHANGING THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S ACTION CAPACITY Eva Gabriele Heidbreder Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute Examining Board: Professor Stefano Bartolini, European University Institute/RSCAS Professor Adrienne Héritier, European University Institute (Supervisor) Doctor Antoaneta Dimitrova, Universiteit Leiden Professor B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh © 2008, Eva G. Heidbreder No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Heidbreder Eva G. (2008), The Impact of Implementing Eastern Enlargement: Changing the European Commission’s Action Capacity European University Institute 10.2870/20746 ABSTRACT How does policy implementation impact on the institutionalised capacities of political agents? This ques- tion about the link between policy-making and institutional development lies at the heart of the study. It is inspired by an empirical puzzle about the dynamics of European integration. Since 1993 the European Union has developed a strategic approach to enlargement the most relevant trademark of which has been the criteria which acceding states have to meet before entering the Union. The conditionality-based pre- accession policy provided the European Commission with a set of new competences vis-à-vis the candidate states that were not directly derived from the internally applicable legal framework, the acquis com- munautaire. This kind of conditionality established double standards applicable to the candidate, but not the member states. Scrutinising all cases in which such double standards were created brings to the fore the fact that only in two cases did policies remain indeed limited to the candidate states before accession. In a further three cases the steering instruments the Commission developed in the enlargement context were extended beyond the institutional sub-system of the pre-accession policy to the institutional core of the acquis: why and how? The theoretical framework draws from functionalist theory. The necessary condition for policies to be integrated from a distinct institutional sub-system – such as the pre-accession policy that applied to candidate states only – is functional pressure. Double standards create functional pressure for integration per se because they undermine the credibility of the political system in that candidates for membership need to comply with higher standards than members themselves. Functional pressure rises if policies are implemented successfully and if political problems persist so that at the moment of accession they be- come a common matter of concern for all member states. However, this alone does not explain why a single policy ‘spills-in’ from a sub-system to the institutional core. The sufficient condition and theoretical explanation builds on Theodore Lowi’s arenas of power approach. The variance between the single poli- cies is explained by the policy type at stake that determines which steering instruments emerge in the re- spective arenas of power. The empirical results show that the Commission indeed extends its steering capacity if policies are formulated as non-binding rules and standards in the regulatory arena or in a re- strictive way that limits redistributive effects in the distributive arena. In conclusion, the thesis contributes to three strands of European integration research. First, it offers a theoretically-guided analysis of European Union widening. Enlargement policy is conceptualised as an institutionally linked but distinct arena of institutional rules. The effect that policy-making in such an institutional sub-system has may hence be extended and applied to other institutional sub-systems that are linked to but distinct from the Union’s core legal framework. Second, the study provides insights into the functioning the European Commission and how the organisation continues effectively to extend its steer- ing capacities in the post-Maastricht era. Moreover, the case studies cover policy fields not much dis- cussed in the existing scholarly literature. They therefore provide original research on how the Commis- sion actually develops new responsibilities and implements policies. Third, the findings inform the study of European integration at large. Spelling out how implementing enlargement has been a source for ex- tending the European Commission’s action capacity, the thesis highlights the process of widening as a specific cause for supranational institutionalisation which has so far attained little if any attention. Heidbreder Eva G. (2008), The Impact of Implementing Eastern Enlargement: Changing the European Commission’s Action Capacity European University Institute 10.2870/20746 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing the doctoral thesis have been important ‘Lehr- und Wanderjahre’ with a number of criti- cal stations, all of which bore essentially new and hence at times bewildering challenges but also always supportive encouragement. It will be impossible to mention all, but on behalf I would like to express my gratitude to a few people in the most relevant places of the journey. First at all, however, a warm thank you to my supervisor Adrienne Héritier who was always available and offered patient and persistent guidance throughout the passed four years. The very puzzle the thesis was inspired by a study which I wrote for EIPA in Maastricht, I would like to thank Ines Hartwig and Phedon Nicolaides for the inspiring encouragement to actually get involved with the topic. The project gained subsequently shape during my time at the IHS in Vienna. To mention is, above all, Gerda Falkner and her team, an equally warm thank you to Guy Peters, Tanja Börzel and Thomas Risse, as well as Lisbeth Hooghe and Gary Marks who I first met in Vienna and the discussions with whom were decisive for the direction the project and I myself took. The most important years for developing the ideas and eventually writing them down were those at the European University Institute in Florence. The many facets of the insti- tutional life and academic exchange have left traces in various respects. In my department, I would like to thank Fritz Kratochwil and Philippe Schmitter who have not been directly involved into my project but who offered most helpful comments in moments of greatest confusion (even if occasionally they might have sagaciously added to the latter, too). Beyond the political science and sociology department, the law faculty has become my second point of reference at the EUI, which has shaped my understanding of European integration in a wider sense. A particular thanks for various conversations to Bruno de Witte. Most notably, working with Giuliano Amato and Jacques Ziller has been a vital instruction; moreover my thanks Giuliano Amato for valuable comments on the thesis. Finally, I had the chance of spending time in the Robert Schuman Cen- tre, which offered a third arena of intellectual encounters with post-doctoral researchers and visit- ing fellows. For comments on parts of my draft, I would like to thank Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling and also to Stefano Bartolini for extremely helpful remarks on significant stepping-stones of the study. Apart from the Badia, the Villa Schifanoia and the Convento in San Domenico, two other houses have been important sources for food of mind and nurturing stuff in the more, if not in the most literal meaning. For moral support and – when necessary – frank but always benevolent advice I Heidbreder Eva G. (2008), The Impact of Implementing Eastern Enlargement: Changing the European Commission’s Action Capacity European University Institute 10.2870/20746 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv thank my friends, most of whom would meet in Gianni’s Casa di Vino: Luca Diluciano, Volker Balli, Giulia Reinhardt and Tobias Broer, Joana Medes and Jan Zutavern, as well as Tiia Lehto- nen, Christine Reh, Florian Pichler, and Igor Guardiancich. For the musical refuge and comfort- ing words whenever needed, I thank my friends of the Orchestra Desiderio di Settignano com- monly to be found in the village’s Casa di Popolo: Johanna Knauf, Brigitte Zehnder, Marry Forrest, and Moreno Pandolfi. To close the circle, ‘danke’ to my family back home in Germany who were taking care of me from the distance. In the same vein, a special ‘grazie’ for being an enduring listener at all times to Giliberto Capano, and to my very first instructor in European Studies, Ingeborg Tömmel, who provided me with the maybe most crucial advice calling me up from Osnabrück one day: “what are they doing to you over there? You seem so confused, Eva! Don’t let them confuse you, stick to your original idea, that was much better”. Thank you for all this necessary, fruitful puzzlement and support in retrieving the following from it. Heidbreder Eva G. (2008), The Impact of Implementing Eastern Enlargement: Changing the European Commission’s Action Capacity European University Institute 10.2870/20746 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III TABLES AND FIGURES IX ABBREVIATIONS