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Under which conditions does the open method of co-ordination match the standards for demoi-cracy? To answer this question, we need some explicit standards about demoi-cracy. In fact, open co-ordination serves three different but interrelated purposes in European Union policy: to facilitate convergence; to support learning processes; and to encourage exploration of policy innovation. By intersecting standards and purposes, we find open co-ordination is neither inherently ‘good’ nor ‘bad’ for demoi-cracy, as it depends on how it has been put into practice. Therefore, we qualify the answer considering the empirical evidence on how normative principles hit the road of implementation. In the final part of this paper, we look into the demoi-cratic effects of the Eurozone's economic and financial crisis on our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, we present some major lessons drawn from a recently completed research project. Our research dealt with ex ante evaluation, mainly impact assessment (IA).We shed new light on research questions about the control of bureaucracy, the role of IA in decision-making, economics and policy learning, and the narrative dimension of appraisal.We identify how our findings stand in relation to conventional arguments about these issues, and reflect on their normative implications. We finally reason on the possible extensions of our arguments to the wider field of policy evaluation, connecting IA and ex post evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can a learning-based mode of governance, specifically the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), facilitate Europeanization? The argument is that, in policy areas where the Treaty base for European Union policy is thin or non-existent or where diverging political views hinder the development of law, modes of governance based on Council's guidelines, the co-ordination of national action plans, peer review of reforms, systematic benchmarking, performance indicators, and governance processes open to the regional-local level and the civil society produce convergence towards the EU goals and ultimately Europeanization without the need to create new EU legislation. By comparing evidence from the most mature OMC processes, this article finds that the relationship between learning, policy change, and Europeanization can break down at several points, and that evidence of learning is limited. This is due to deficiencies in the design of the OMC, the lack of participation, and the political/institutional complexities of learning in the EU context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines public policy in the European Union (EU) by drawing upon the framework of policy transfer, which has been recently refined by comparativists, and the concept of isomorphism developed within organizational theory. Three case studies--namely, the single currency, tax policy and media ownership policy--are discussed and compared with the aim of assessing the potential of isomorphism for the analysis of policy diffusion. The author argues that European institutions, which have a serious limitation in terms of legitimacy, stimulate policy transfer by catalyzing isomorphic processes. Policy transfer, however, is constrained when there are no national cases to be imitated. Yet European institutions, most notably the European Commission, can overcome the problem by "inseminating" solutions into national political systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of expertise in European public policy has become the object of a passionate debate. On the one hand, it has been argued that knowledge, in various guises, can foster learning, enlightenment, problem-solving attitudes, and policy change. On the other, the public policy of the European Union (EU) is in the firing line because of its technocratic bias. However, what is meant by technocracy in the case of the EU? How can political scientists be fascinated by the positive input of knowledge, and, at the same time, horrified by technocratic policy-making? The aim of this article is to tackle this puzzle by suggesting a conceptual framework. Concepts such as technocracy, epistemic communities, and bureaucratic politics refer to different modes of the politics of expertise. Empirically, they should be contrasted with the logic of politicization. Case studies discussed in this article suggest that the power of expertise is being counterbalanced by politicization. The conclusion is that the main challenge is neither to preserve an unattainable depoliticized Union nor to assume that politicization will tame technocracy, but to make expertise more accountable in an increasingly politicized environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which investigated the dynamics of the European Union direct tax policy process. Narratives, coalitions and the policy process; Tax neutrality for the single market; Forum politics and the Ecofin Agreement; Role of the policy environment.

Evaluates whether corporate tax policies in Italy and the United Kingdom have been changed by the emergence of an embryonic tax regime at the European Union level. Effects of the Europeanization of domestic policy; Illustration of differences between integration and domestic policy change; Effect of Europeanization neglect in Italy; Impact of Europeanization of policy change in United Kingdom.