Executive Governance as a New Policy Model in the EU? The Crisis Management of the EU and its Impacts on the Political System

Abstract

The EU crisis has brought about fundamental impacts on the constitutional framework of the EU governance. The internationalization of EU law, the strengthening of the intergovernmental form of decision-making with the crucial role of the European Council and the corresponding weakening of parliamentary bodies can be seen as symptoms of a shift of the EU towards an executive form of federal governance. However, this trend may not be interpreted simply as a “return” of the sovereign state as the key actor within the European polity, as it might be according to traditional theories of emergency powers. The decision-making is de facto relocated from the political level to the level of administration. Thus, instead of de-parliamentarization, we can speak about de-politization or a reconfiguration of the political. The crucial role here – even in decisions of summits of the European Council and the Euro Council – is played by administrative bodies, particularly those of the Council Secretariat and the Commission’s services. While the economic crisis is (hopefully) already overcome, the overcoming of the crisis of democracy is not in sight.