EU Institutions and Policy-Making

EU Institutions & Policy-Making

The institutional makeup of something as complex as the EU is, well, complex. There is the European Council but also a Council of the European Union, and an executive arm, the European Commission, with two bodies co-deciding on law proposals made by the Commission, namely the European Parliament and the European Council. And so on. This area of EconPol analyses the roles and functions of each of the seven key EU institutions, placing particular emphasis on the intricate interplay between these institutions and their impact on policy development and implementation on a wide range of areas, including economic integration, social issues, environmental regulations, and foreign affairs. It also explores the democratic legitimacy, transparency, and accountability of EU decision-making, as well as the challenges and debates surrounding the balance of power among EU institutions and the influence of member states.

Related articles

Cover of EconPol Forum 6/2022

How to Deal with the European Energy Crisis? Core Challenges for the EU

POLICY DEBATE OF THE HOUR

Andreas Goldthau and Nick Sitter, Reyer Gerlagh, Matti Liski and Iivo Vehviläinen, Daniel Gros, Mathias Mier, Svetlana A. Ikonnikova and Sofia Berdysheva, Alari Paulus, Karsten Staehr

The current energy crisis in Europe is bringing about profound changes that can accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and secure energy system. Yet, it is a supply shock of unprecedented scale and complexity, most noticeable in the markets for natural gas, coal, and electricity. Winter promises to be tough - especially for low-income households that use gas for heating and for small and medium-sized industrial companies. Short-term policy measures aim to shield consumers from the effects of the crisis: these include gas and electricity price brakes and energy subsidies for households. At the same time, many governments in the EU are now trying to increase or diversify oil and gas supplies and also accelerate structural change. The articles in the “Policy Debate of the Hour” section of this issue of EconPol Forum examine the causes of the crisis, analyze its effects, critically assess the policies already in place, and propose new short- to medium-term energy policies to better manage it and strengthen the EU’s systemic resilience to energy market volatility.

 

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Cover of EconPol Forum 5/2022

European Labor Markets: How Can We Effectively Manage Technological and Structural Change?

POLICY DEBATE OF THE HOUR

Oliver Falck, Maria Savona, Tommaso Ciarli, Ed Steinmueller, Simone Vannuccini, Yuchen Guo, Christina Langer, Fabio Mercorio, Francesco Trentini, Valentin Lindlacher, Simon Wiederhold, Yvonne Giesing, Britta Rude, Florencia Jaccoud, Fabien Petit, Ron Boschma, Andreas Baur, Lisandra Flach, Isabella Gourevich, Filippo Bontadini, Valentina Meliciani, Ariel Wirkierman, Chao Ma, Zhong Zha

In this issue of the EconPol Forum, our authors discuss how Europe can more effectively address all these challenges and solve the associated labor market problems caused by rapid structural change. The authors also provide helpful policy recommendations for national governments and EU companies.

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Cover of EconPol Policy Report 34

Investment Screening Mechanisms: The Trend to Control Inward Foreign Investment

Vera Z. Eichenauer (ETH Zurich), Michael Dorsch (Central European University), Feicheng Wang (University of Göttingen)

In an increasing number of sectors, concerns are rising that foreign firm participation may pose risks to public order. Many developed countries have adopted or extended their investment screening mechanisms to control inward foreign direct investment in strategically important sectors over the last years. This paper documents the development of investment screening in OECD and EU countries and provides the first discussion from an economic perspective. We review existing and propose new explanations for the adoption of investment screening. Our exploratory quantitative analysis suggests that countries with higher levels of technological development and with a stricter regulatory environment for foreign investment are more likely to introduce investment screening. Contrary to the popular wisdom, we do not find evidence that higher Chinese inward investments are associated with the implementation of investment screening.

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