I digress … thoughts on fish & the environment
From time to time I am asked how the Commission adopts proposals. Whilst one or two Commission departments seem to selectively ignore Inter-Service Consultation, I thought it would be useful to share some practical thoughts. These ideas work well for most files, except for a limited number of files where Commission Departments don’t … Read more
Having done a few substance classifications (CLP), I get a few questions about the Commission and the Member States view the process. I have pulled together my notes and put down how the Commission and most Member States see the process. I think it is key to understand how the people informing and making decisions … Read more
It is useful to have rules and to follow them. The EU is a rules-based system. There is no shortage for them. The Commission has lots of them. They have hidden most of them out in plain sight. For example: President’s Political Guidelines – https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/political-guidelines-next-commission_en.pdf Work Programme – https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/2019-commission-work-programme-key-documents_en Working Methods – https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/the_working_methods_of_the_european_commission_2014-2019_november2014_en.pdf Commission’s Rules of Procedure – https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:02000Q3614-20111116 … Read more
The incentives for politicians to follow the strictures of Better Regulation are low. They’ll always be lured away by the opportunities for quick and easy victories. There is little to no regard to second or third-order consequences. The prospect that a well-placed news piece leads to quickly drafted and often ill-thought-out legislation used to be … Read more