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Reforming the furture Common Agricultural Policy - What powers do the European Commission have?

Hansen, Julie Sofie LU (2022) STVM23 20221
Department of Political Science
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the European Commission’s role in the ordinary legislative procedure. To do so, the thesis examines the case of the newly negotiated reform of the CAP. The Commission has for many years had legislative powers when reforming the CAP. However, since the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission has only had the formal power to initiate legislative proposals and afterward be the mediator of the trialogues. The Commission’s constitutional most prominent opportunities are their monopole as an agenda-setter in the EU. It is the only actor that can formally propose political changes. However, the Commission suffers in being a part of the negotiation process afterward. It has no legislative power to... (More)
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the European Commission’s role in the ordinary legislative procedure. To do so, the thesis examines the case of the newly negotiated reform of the CAP. The Commission has for many years had legislative powers when reforming the CAP. However, since the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission has only had the formal power to initiate legislative proposals and afterward be the mediator of the trialogues. The Commission’s constitutional most prominent opportunities are their monopole as an agenda-setter in the EU. It is the only actor that can formally propose political changes. However, the Commission suffers in being a part of the negotiation process afterward. It has no legislative power to amend or disagree with the final outcome of a policy agreement once it is agreed upon by the European Parliament and European Council. This is surely a constraint for them. In the case of the CAP post-2020 reform, the Commission made a smart move. They gave the policy more flexibility for the Member States which was a wish from stakeholders, Member States, etc. However, by giving the Member States the right to make strategic plans, the Commission gave themselves more power since every strategic plan must be negotiated and approved by the Commission. The conclusion of the thesis is, therefore, that the Commission might not have the strongest formal powers, but they can informally influence the policy outcome. (Less)
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author
Hansen, Julie Sofie LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM23 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
European Union, The European Commission, The Common Agricultural Policy, decision-making, reform process
language
English
id
9077504
date added to LUP
2022-05-23 12:14:02
date last changed
2022-05-23 12:14:02
@misc{9077504,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the European Commission’s role in the ordinary legislative procedure. To do so, the thesis examines the case of the newly negotiated reform of the CAP. The Commission has for many years had legislative powers when reforming the CAP. However, since the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission has only had the formal power to initiate legislative proposals and afterward be the mediator of the trialogues. The Commission’s constitutional most prominent opportunities are their monopole as an agenda-setter in the EU. It is the only actor that can formally propose political changes. However, the Commission suffers in being a part of the negotiation process afterward. It has no legislative power to amend or disagree with the final outcome of a policy agreement once it is agreed upon by the European Parliament and European Council. This is surely a constraint for them. In the case of the CAP post-2020 reform, the Commission made a smart move. They gave the policy more flexibility for the Member States which was a wish from stakeholders, Member States, etc. However, by giving the Member States the right to make strategic plans, the Commission gave themselves more power since every strategic plan must be negotiated and approved by the Commission. The conclusion of the thesis is, therefore, that the Commission might not have the strongest formal powers, but they can informally influence the policy outcome.}},
  author       = {{Hansen, Julie Sofie}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Reforming the furture Common Agricultural Policy - What powers do the European Commission have?}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}