Informal governance: cornerstone in the functioning of the EU
Despite the importance of formal rules and procedures, a full understanding of the EU requires the inclusion of informal governance as a key element of its dynamics. This was the main thesis debated on Wednesday 22nd January at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where eminent scholars and EU practitioners gathered for the book launch by Mareike Kleine (Cornell University Press, 2013).
Key points of the functioning of international organizations, such as the EU, were raised by Simon Hix, professor of European and comparative politics at LSE. He highlighted the importance and difficulty of reaching consensus in organizations with a large number of members and claimed that this consensus would not be possible without flexible patterns such us those common in Brussels. The scholar also remarked the relevance of personal connections as well as of the profile of politicians and policy makers. In this sense, it was claimed that their personal characteristics continuously mark political and legislative outcomes.
Understanding the history of the EU in order to envision its current dynamics was the focus of Hellen Wallace, Emeritus professor at LSE. Wallace reminded the audience of the importance of informal contacts since the first treaty reform. The synergy of both ways of governance, formal and informal, gives meaning to the functioning of the EU, where flexibility becomes of paramount importance for success in the bargain.
This combination of formal and informal rules is a key strength of the EU, according to Luuk van Middelaar, advisor to the president of the European Council. What is important, he stressed, is not the rule itself, but the meaning of having it. Deviation of the rule is not always negative; legal rules often reach their limits, then informality takes place for the coherent development of negotiations.
The down side of informality is, however, the difficulty of accountability. This was one of the ideas that Duncan Snidal, professor of international relations at the University of Oxford, brought to the roundtable. Snidal claimed that informality has great power – in fact, it provides considerable room for manoeuvre to the member states of international organizations. However, these contacts, the professor explained, are often opaque and need to be as transparent as formal rules are.
The lack of accountability in informal decision-making processes was expanded upon by Mareike Kleine, lecturer in EU politics at LSE. She confirmed Snidal’s idea by explaining that informality makes everything more obscure. The EU usually deviates from legal rules as a way of making everyone happy. It is not only a tool to reach the always desirable consensus but also a behaviour that allows flexibility to accommodate decision-making problems.
Whether informal governance is good or bad was a question posed but not answered during the evening. Notwithstanding, it was clear that informal governance facilitates the hard work of bringing together large number of points of views and perspectives in such organizations and political systems as the European Union.
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Written by Carlos Oliva-Quintana
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