Rediscovering Europe in the Netherlands - St Antony's College ...

diagnosis
2.3 changes in the legitimisation of european policy
2.3.1 the traditional method of legitimisation
Legitimacy though results
European integration was originally a political project which derived its
legitimacy primarily from achievements in three mutually related areas,
namely the realisation of peace, stability and prosperity in Western
Europe. The common market for coal and steel (1951) and the European
economic community (1958) were the most important instruments toward
the realisation of these goals. From the beginning, the integration project
was based on a process-oriented approach, in the sense that an inherent
dynamic of ‘spillover’ to other policy domains would occur. This vision
was enshrined in the original mission of the ec treaty, with its ‘ever closer
union among the peoples of Europe’ (Preamble to both the ec and the eu
Treaties).
Traditionally, European integration has been a rather technical affair
reserved for political, administrative and functional elites. A great deal of
policy is formulated within a closed circle of policymakers, who have a vast
amount of expertise and knowledge, but much less in the area of external
orientation. Not only does this small group pay little attention to public
preferences, but the parliament and the citizens are pretty much totally
excluded, or at best enjoy limited involvement in the development of
dossiers which clearly impinge upon citizens’ responsibilities.
47
This ‘technocratic reflex’ with the associated ‘walls’ erected between policymakers
and those who have to comply with or apply various policies,
restricts the options for representation, accountability and identification
with the eu. It is also the – all too understandable – cause of many implementation
problems and the lack of understanding among administrators
regarding ‘unworkable’ European regulations which have no bearing on
‘work floor’ problems. Obvious examples of these kinds of problems are
the Habitats Directive (Van Keulen 2007) and, more recently, the Air Quality
Directive (Rood, Van Keulen, Nollen and Arts 2005). The relatively
long interval between the agenda-setting, decision making and implementation
processes, which are often out of synch with the various political
and official cycles in the member states, are partly the reason for this.
Attempts are then made later on in the policy process to revise the policy,
something for which there appear to be no mechanisms at eu level where
the emphasis is placed on timely and correct implementation. The policy
issues studied for this report provide numerous examples of problems
involving timing and administrative uncertainty, which in turn, cause