Best, Edward --- "Widening, Deepening … and Diversifying: Has Enlargement Shaped New Forms of EU Governance?" [2008] ELECD 279; in Best, Edward; Christiansen, Thomas; Settembri, Pierpaolo (eds), "The Institutions of the Enlarged European Union" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008)

Book Title: The Institutions of the Enlarged European Union

Editor(s): Best, Edward; Christiansen, Thomas; Settembri, Pierpaolo

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847203458

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: Widening, Deepening … and Diversifying: Has Enlargement Shaped New Forms of EU Governance?

Author(s): Best, Edward

Number of pages: 21

Extract:

12. Widening, deepening . . . and
diversifying: has enlargement
shaped new forms of EU
governance?
Edward Best

INTRODUCTION

This chapter considers the role played by enlargement in the evolution of
new modes of European governance. In other words, it is concerned not
with changes in the nature or functioning of the European institutions, nor
with the operation or effectiveness of the procedures by which those bodies
adopt European instruments. It looks at the ways in which the range of
instruments and approaches which are employed within the EU has
become broader and more complex, to include a variety of non-legislative
methods, and tries to assess the importance of enlargements in shaping
these developments.
It asks two questions. On the one hand, looking to the past, what has
been the influence of enlargement in the emergence of these new
approaches? On the other hand, looking to the future, are there any ways
in which the latest enlargements from 15 to 27 member states could lead to
a further transformation of such methods? And, if there are indications of
such an impact, does this reflect more structural differences which will
remain or capacity gaps which may be overcome?
The first section briefly recalls the main ways in which non-legislative
approaches have emerged in the European Union. It distinguishes between
the various forms of non-binding policy coordination known generically as
the open method of coordination (OMC), on the one hand, and the different
ways in which new forms of public­private interaction ...