European Union Public Policy
                                       Professor John Wilton

                                             Lecture 9
                                       Policy implementation

                                    European Union Public Policy
                                             Lecture 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 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 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 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 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 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