Competing for consultation: Civil society and conflict between the European Commission and the European Parliament

Abstract

This article investigates how informal rules in the European Union change in the periods between formal treaty revisions. On the basis of a case study on the White Paper on Governance presented by the European Commission in July 2001, it shows how institutional change is driven by conflict between the Commission and the European Parliament. The conflict concerns the development of informal rules to structure the interaction of the Commission and the Parliament with Europe's civil society. The interaction with civil society organisations is very important for the EU bodies because it allows them to acquire resources that are indispensable in order to fulfil and expand their organisational role. An additional aim of this article is to examine how these institutional developments might influence the long-term development of formal treaty rules.

Acknowledgements

The views expressed in this article are purely those of the author and may not be regarded as stating the official position of the institution for which the author is working. I am grateful to Ben Crum, Dirk Debièvre, Margaret McCown, Berthold Rittberger, Matilda Rotkirch, Stijn Smismans and Frédéric Varone for comments on earlier versions of this article. In addition, I would like to thank Adrienne Héritier, Henry Farrell, Carl-Fredrik Bergström, Joseph Jupille and Leonor Moral Soriano for their interesting remarks during the Workshops on Contested Competences at the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies, Stockholm, October 2003 and at the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute, Florence, May 2004.

Notes

1. For other factors explaining informal institutional change, see the overview provided by Stacy and Rittberger (2003).

2. Even though there is no common or legal definition of the term ‘civil society organisation’, the European Commission uses the term to refer to a broad range of organisations which include: labour-market players; organisations representing social and economic players, which are not social partners in the strict sense of the term; NGOs which bring people together in a common cause, such as environmental organisations, human rights organisations, charitable organisations, educational and training organisations, etc.; CBOs (community-based organisations), e.g. youth organisations, family associations and all organisations through which citizens participate in local and municipal life; religious communities (see COM(2002) 277 final). This description corresponds to the analysis developed by the Economic and Social Committee in its opinion ‘The Role and Contribution of Civil Society in the Building of Europe’ (OJ C329, 17 November 1999, p. 30).

3. Commission discussion paper: ‘The Commission and Non-governmental Organizations: Building a Stronger Partnership’, COM(2000) 0011 final.

4. Interview with Jérome Vignon, Director, DG Employment and Social Affairs, Brussels, 5 May 2004.

5. Commission Communication: ‘Towards a Reinforced Culture of Consultation and Dialogue – General Principles and Minimum Standards for Consultation of Interested Parties’, Brussels 11 December 2002, COM (2002) 704 final, p. 10.

6. The proposals in the White Paper on Governance were influenced by an interesting discussion paper issued by the Commission in January 2000: ‘The Commission and Non-governmental Organizations: Building a Stronger Partnership’. The Commission developed some guidelines for best practice for consultation in this paper.

7. Commission communication (93/C63/02).

8. Rule of Procedure 9(2) and Annex IX Article 3.

9. Article 311 of the EC Treaty states that ‘The protocols annexed to this Treaty by common accord of the Member States shall form an integral part thereof’.

10. Council Decision of 27 June 1974 on the setting up of an Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work, 74/325/EEC.

11. Council Regulation of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community, 1612/68/EEC.

12. Council Regulation of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community, 1408/71EEC.

13. Commission Decision of 17 December 1989 setting up a Consumers' Consultative Council, 90/55/EEC.

14. Commission Decision of 7 December 1993 on the setting up of a General Consultative Forum on the Environment, 93/701/EEC.

15. CONECCS database: http://europa.eu.int/comm/civil_society/coneccs/index_en.htm.

16. European Governance, A White Paper. Brussels, 25 July 2001, COM(2001) 428 final.

17. Stacey (2003) has interpreted the White Paper proposals along the same lines.

18. For the reactions to the White Paper of the Council and the two EU advisory committees, see: Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on European Governance – a White Paper (CES 357/2002); Opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 13 March 2002 on the White Paper on European Governance (CdR 102/2001 fin); Council resolution of 6 February 2003 on Social Inclusion – through social dialogue and partnership (OJ 2003/C 039/01).

19. European Governance, A White Paper. Brussels, 25 July 2001, COM(2001) 428 final.

20. It has indeed been shown in the literature on European interest politics that business interest are much better represented in Brussels than other societal interests (Mazey and Richardson 1999: 121).

21. Report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (FINAL A5-0399/2001) on the Commission White Paper on European Governance (COM(2001)428 – C5-0454/2001 – 2001/2181(COS)).

22. European Parliament resolution on the Commission White Paper on European Governance (COM(2001)428 – C5-0454/2001 – 2001/2181(COS)).

23. Commission Communication, Brussels 5 June 2002, COM (2002) 277 final.

24. Protocol (No. 7) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, annexed to the Amsterdam Treaty.

25. Commission Communication: ‘Towards a Reinforced Culture of Consultation and Dialogue – General Principles and Minimum Standards for Consultation of Interested Parties’, Brussels 11 December 2002, COM (2002) 704 final.

26. Jérome Vignon, chairman of the Governance Team that prepared the White Paper in July 2001, is convinced that the discussions surrounding the White Paper have led to the formalisation of the relation between the European Commission and civil society in the proposed Constitutional Treaty (Interview with Jérome Vignon, Director, DG Employment and Social Affairs, Brussels, 5 May, 2004).