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Larsson, Torbjörn; Trondal, Jarle --- "Agenda Setting in the European Commission: How the European Commission Structure and Influence the EU Agenda" [2006] ELECD 272; in Hofmann, C.H. Herwig; Türk, H. Alexander (eds), "EU Administrative Governance" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: EU Administrative Governance

Editor(s): Hofmann, C.H. Herwig; Türk, H. Alexander

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845422851

Section: Chapter 1

Section Title: Agenda Setting in the European Commission: How the European Commission Structure and Influence the EU Agenda

Author(s): Larsson, Torbjörn; Trondal, Jarle

Number of pages: 33

Extract:

1. Agenda setting in the European
Commission: how the European
Commission structure and influence
the EU agenda
Torbjörn Larsson and Jarle Trondal

INTRODUCTION

Agenda setting theories claim that what happens in the early stages of the
policy-making process has a profound effect on the final output and that actors
entering the agenda setting phase have a comparative advantage to those
entering the later stages. In the European Union the European Commission
plays a predominant agenda setting role, especially in matters falling under
the first pillar, in initiating and preparing proposals for legal acts and non-
legal decisions. In practice, in the EU decision-making cycle the agenda
setting phase often overlaps with the decision-making and implementing
processes. In 2001, for example, roughly 85 per cent of the EU legislation
consisted of legislation delegated to the European Commission.1
This chapter analyses how the European Commission organises the
agenda setting phase of the EU policy-making process by means of initiating
and preparing legislative, budgetary and programme proposals. Special
emphasis is put on how expert groups are being used and what role(s) they
play. The study argues that a pivotal characteristic of the Commission
agenda setting is the emergence of a community administration that spans
levels of government (national government institutions and the European
Commission). This community administration integrates decision-making
agendas across levels of governance (see also Trondal in this volume).
What is often conceptualised as Europeanisation of domestic government
institutions by their intimate participation in ...