European Union Public Policy
                                       Professor John Wilton

                                            Lecture 8/9
                                   Policy implementation 1 and 2

                                    European Union Public Policy
                                            Lecture 8/9

A) Categories of difficulties:

•             territorial and institutional differentiation;

•             questions relating to structure and agency

B) Framework of public policy implementation

                                    European Union Public Policy
                                            Lecture 8/9

-           The issues and problems arising from territorial and institutional differentiation

       - ‘long chain’ of increasing decision points in   policy implementation

          a) additional institutional bodies of the E.U.

                   - tensions between E.U. institutions

          b) territorial basis/nature of E.U.

                   - tensions between E.U. institutions and                  Member state
institutions (national,                        regional, city, town, local)



                                    European Union Public Policy
                                            Lecture 8/9

2. Questions relating to structure and agency

       a) inter-institutional relationship within the                    E.U.;

       b) inter-institutional relationship between E.U.     institutions and policy implementing 
                    institutions of national Member states

                                    European Union Public Policy
                                            Lecture 8/9

Agency – ‘role of the individual’

      - increased policy implementation ‘actors’          at increased decision points

      - increased opportunities to re-fight  battles lost in the policy formulation       stage

      - the problems of rigidity and flexibility



                                    European Union Public Policy
                                            Lecture 8/9

Successful policy implementation and the complexity and multifaceted E.U. process

•             Method

•             Strategy/tactics

•             Objectives and milestones

•             Patience and the long view

•             Teams and functions

•             Structures

•             A set of rules



                                    European Union Public Policy
                                            Lecture 8/9

E.U. public policy implementation:

•             faces many difficulties/ by no means perfect;

•             transfer E.U. law into Member state law imperfect;

•             implementation interpretation issues;

•             institutional policy implementation issues;

•             cultural institutional implementation interpretation issues;

•             inadequate E.U. implementation monitoring