'Much ado about nothing?' : comitology as a feature of EU policy implementation and its effects on

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'Much ado about nothing?': comitology as a feature
of EU policy implementation and its effects on the
democratic arena
Neuhold, Christine
Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version
Forschungsbericht / research report
Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation:
Neuhold, C. (2001). 'Much ado about nothing?': comitology as a feature of EU policy implementation and its effects
on the democratic arena. (Reihe Politikwissenschaft / Institut für Höhere Studien, Abt. Politikwissenschaft, 78). Wien:
Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS), Wien. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-246339
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78
Reihe Politikwissenschaft
Political Science Series

“Much Ado About Nothing?”
Comitology as a Feature of EU Policy
Implementation and its Effects on the
Democratic Arena
Christine Neuhold

78
Reihe Politikwissenschaft
Political Science Series

“Much Ado About
Nothing?”
Comitology as a Feature of EU Policy
Implementation and its Effects on the
Democratic Arena
Christine Neuhold

September 2001

Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS), Wien
Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna
Contact:

Christine Neuhold
(: +43/1/599 91-168
email: [email protected]

Founded in 1963 by two prominent Austrians living in exile – the sociologist Paul F. Lazarsfeld and the
economist Oskar Morgenstern – with the financial support from the Ford Foundation, the Austrian
Federal Ministry of Education, and the City of Vienna, the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) is the
first institution for postgraduate education and research in economics and the social sciences in
Austria. The Political Science Series presents research done at the Department of Political Science
and aims to share “work in progress” before formal publication. It includes papers by the Department’s
teaching and research staff, visiting professors, graduate students, visiting fellows, and invited
participants in seminars, workshops, and conferences. As usual, authors bear full responsibility for the
content of their contributions.

Das Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS) wurde im Jahr 1963 von zwei prominenten Exilösterreichern –
dem Soziologen Paul F. Lazarsfeld und dem Ökonomen Oskar Morgenstern – mit Hilfe der Ford-
Stiftung, des Österreichischen Bundesministeriums für Unterricht und der Stadt Wien gegründet und ist
somit die erste nachuniversitäre Lehr- und Forschungsstätte für die Sozial- und Wirtschafts-
wissenschaften in Österreich. Die Reihe Politikwissenschaft bietet Einblick in die Forschungsarbeit
der Abteilung für Politikwissenschaft und verfolgt das Ziel, abteilungsinterne Diskussionsbeiträge einer
breiteren fachinternen Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen. Die inhaltliche Verantwortung für die
veröffentlichten Beiträge liegt bei den Autoren und Autorinnen. Gastbeiträge werden als solche
gekennzeichnet.
Abstract
The previously neglected phenomenon of governance by committees has recently received
increasing attention in the academic literature.
This paper focuses on the consequences of the arrangements prevailing in the committees
active in the implementing phase of EU-legislation on the practice of democracy and
legitimacy. The so-called “comitology committees” can be seen as a good example of the
tension between input- and output-based sources of legitimacy. On the one hand the EP has
demanded its increased involvement in this system ever since these committees were
established. On the other hand (preliminary) studies have shown that Members of the
European Parliament seem to be overwhelmed with the scrutiny or even the filing of draft
implementing measures. This gives rise to the question of increasing the legitimacy of
committee work and at the same time preserving the “efficiency” of this (presumably) co-
operative form of decision making.
This phenomenon is illustrated by means of a case study of committees active in the field of
health and consumer protection.
Zusammenfassung
In den letzten Jahren wurde dem Thema des Ausschusswesens in der Europäischen Union
(EU) immer stärkere Aufmerksamkeit in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur gewidmet. Dieses
Working Paper nimmt jene Ausschüsse, die in der Durchführungsphase von EU-Recht aktiv
sind, unter die Lupe. Diese sogenannten “Komitologie-Ausschüsse” können als gutes
Beispiel für das Spannungsverhältnis zwischen verschiedenen Formen der “input”- und
“output” Demokratie betrachtet werden.
Einerseits hat das Europäische Parlament seine verstärkte Einbindung in dieses System
moniert, andererseits haben Studien ergeben, dass Mitglieder des Europäischen Parlaments
(MdEPs) mit der Prüfung der Entwürfe für Durchführungsrechtsakte überfordert sind.
In diesem Zusammenhang stellt sich die Frage, inwiefern die Ausschussarbeit “legitimer”
gestaltet und gleichzeitig die Effizienz dieser (kooperativen) Form der Entscheidungsfindung
beibehalten werden könnte.
Dieses Phänomen wird durch eine Fallstudie über Ausschüsse im Politikfeld des
Gesundheits- und Konsumentenschutzes illustriert.
Notes
I would like to thank Peter Biegelbauer and San Bilal for their very helpful comments on a previous
version of this paper.
Contents
1. Introduction and scope of the analysis 1
2. Development of committees 3
3. Committees as a problem-solving arena 5
4. Comitology as a black box 8
5. Comitology as a source for (volatile) conflict
between the Institutions 10
6. The implications of the involvement of the EP in the
comitology system for the practical political process 16
7. (Concluding) observations 21
8. Suggestions and... 23
…Outlook 24
Bibliography 26
List of Abbreviations 31

I H S — Christine Neuhold / “Much Ado About Nothing?” — 1
1. Introduction and scope of the analysis
The previously neglected phenomenon of governance by committees has recently received
increasing attention in the academic literature (c.f. Pedler; Schaefer 1996, Van Schendelen
1998; Christiansen; Kirchner 2000, Rhinhard 2000). In various guises committees are active
at every stage of the EU-decision making process, reaching from the expert groups of the
1
Commission, the working groups of the Council to comitology committees. The increasing
role committees play within the European arena can be seen as a response to “the need for
an even higher level of technical expertise, which stems from the growing complexity of
2
regulating contemporary western societies.”
This paper will focus on the consequences of the arrangements prevailing in the committees
active in the implementing phase of EU-legislation on the practice of democracy and
legitimacy. It will not dwell on the very complex decision making rules within these so called
“comitology committees” which, although they have just recently have undergone extensive
reform, are still a phenomenon that requires its very own science (Weiler et al. 1995, p. 9).
The tension between ‘input-’ versus ‘output-based’ sources of legitimacy seems, at least at
first glance, to be manifest in the system of comitology committees: on the one hand one
could argue that the support of citizens could be secured by consensual, efficient outputs of
these fora. Institutions and procedures have to bring about effective solutions of problems
(“output-legitimacy”).
With regard to the input-side, the political system has to be open to citizen participation and
must enable effective transmission of relevant citizen interests into the process of
governance. On top of that comes the democratic participation in- and competition over
inputs; the ability of citizens to chose between rival elites or political agendas (“input-
legitimacy”) (Hix 1998, Scharpf 1999, Benz 2001). For the EU system this would imply that
regulators sitting in these committees have to be connected to majoritarian institutions.
A recent study has shown that the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), although
they have pressed for a greater involvement of the EP into the comitology system, for the
most part do neither scrutinise nor ‘follow up’ the implementing acts transferred to them by
the Commission under the various inter-institutional agreements (EIPA 1998). This gives rise

1
A comprehensive study on the role of committees within the European system of governance is currently being
conducted under the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Commission. Research Project “Governance
by Committee, the role of committees in European policy-making and policy implementation” (Programme:
Improving Human Potential and Socio-Economic Knowledge Base), Project No. SERD-1999–00128.
2
See Technical Annex to the research proposal (submitted under the Fifth Framework Programme of the
European Commission) “Governance by Committee, the role of committees in European policy-making and
policy implementation” (Programme: Improving Human Potential and Socio-Economic Knowledge Base,
Proposal No. SERD-1999–00128).