Influence of “hard” law on national policies still is a central topic in Europeanisation research. One aspect often overlooked is the impact of “soft” law instruments such as the “Open Method of Coordination” (OMC). Through the OMC all member states agree on common goals and exchange “best practices” to improve policy coordination in a certain area without the obligation (how) to design policies. OMC impacts in individual member states have been studied extensively, yet a comparative perspective explaining their variance is lacking. This study by Niclas Beinborn tries to fill this gap by analysing the different impacts of a recent OMC: the European Youth Strategy 2010 (EUYS). His analysis is twofold: in a first step he applies theory-driven fuzzy-set QCA to a novel dataset depicting the variance of national activities around the EUYS. As causalities remain unclear, in a second step he presents an innovative analysis framework encompassing two dimensions – national motivation and relative openness to implement non-binding EU law – to define ideal types of OMC adaptation. Case studies on the EUYS in Germany and Ireland proof the potential of this framework to explain why and how OMCs work (differently).

This volume analyses, for the first time in European studies, the impact that non-legally binding material (otherwise known as soft law) has on national courts and administration. The study is founded on empirical work undertaken by the European Network of Soft Law Research (SoLaR), across ten EU Member States, in competition policy, financial regulation, environmental protection and social policy. The book demonstrates that soft law is taken into consideration at the national level and it clarifies the extent to which soft law can have legal and practical effects for individuals and national authorities. The national case studies highlight the points of convergence or divergence in the way in which judges and administrators approach soft law, while reflecting on the reasons for and consequences of various national practices. A series of horizontal studies connect this research to the rich literature on new modes of governance, by revisiting traditional theories on soft law, and by reflecting on the potential of such instruments to undermine or to foster rule of law values.

Contributions from prominent economists, lawyers, philosophers and political scientists go beyond short-term technical diagnoses in order to analyse the deeper causes of the European crisis and provide readers with a broad understanding of what goes on in the European Union.

An analysis of the repeated existential crises affecting the resilience of the European Union in the twenty-first century.

What does EU law truly mean for the member states? This book presents the first encompassing and in-depth empirical study of the effects of 'voluntaristic' and (partly) 'soft' EU policies in all 15 member states. The authors examine 90 case studies across a range of EU Directives and shed light on burning contemporary issues in political science, integration theory, and social policy. They reveal that there are major implementation failures and that, to date, the European Commission has not been able adequately to perform its control function.

This book offers the first systematic investigation of the phenomenon of soft law within the framework of the EC (the first pillar of the EU),and its use by the European Commission and Council of Ministers. It focusses upon how soft law fits into the Community legal system, and how it is used, and, in particular, how it relates to Community legislation. Differentiation of the Community instruments, including the instruments of soft law, is often thought to enhance the effectiveness, legitimacy and transparency of the Community. This book asks whether soft law indeed provides a satisfactory alternative to legislation from this perspective and, if so, in what cases and under what conditions. Furthermore, the author asks to what extent the use of soft law implies good governance, and throws fresh light on this very heterogenous phenomenon, by looking at frequently used instruments in many different areas of Community law, such as competition law, state aid, environment, social policy etc., in the process identifying their different characteristics, aims, functions and legal effects. What emerges is that the conditions under which soft law is used may be problematic in relation to increasing the legitimacy, effectiveness and transparency of Community action. This is a work which will interest legal practitioners confronted with the use of soft law and the question of its possible legal effect in an increasing number of sectors and academics interested in the vexed question of how the increased use of soft law can be justified in a Community legal order built upon the rule of law. It is also critical of developments taking place within the framework of the European Convention and the proposed European Constitution, and goes beyond the immediate problems of soft law to touch upon issues such as competence, legal protection, division of powers between the EC and the Member States, institutional balance, lawmaking by the Community Courts, the scope of Community legal principles and the influence of soft law on the progressive development of both Community and national law.

This book addresses a timely, yet largely overlooked, issue in political science: the integration of migrants in a multilevel polity. In a context characterised by the increasing salience of migration-related questions, and despite the gradual construction of a European Union immigration policy over the past two decades, no competence was ever created on integration matters. The emergence of a consistent ensemble of soft instruments in this policy realm in the 2000s unveiled an original pattern of EU policy formation. Can there be Europeanization without an EU competence? That is the question this original piece of research tackles. It shows how the way in which the policy emerged at EU level affected policy outputs adopted thereafter throughout the policy cycle. Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods, it explains the development of the EU integration policy and examines its main policy device, the European Integration Fund, from negotiation to implementation.