The National Co-ordination of EU Policy Volume 2: The European Level

This book is the second of two volumes that examine how EU member states co-ordinate their European policies. In this second volume, the focus is on the European level. The book investigates the strategies deployed by eleven member states -- Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece,Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom - and examines the role played by the permanent representation, and the structures and processes that link national officials in Brussels and at home. From a comparative perspective, the book identifies and assesses the organisation, functions and effectiveness of the permanent representation, and the part that it plays in the national system of co-ordination. It considers the influences that have shaped systems of national co-ordination -- thedemands exerted by Union membership, the institutional structure of the national polity, the pre-existing balance between domestic institutions, administrative norms and values, and attitudes, both popular and elite, to European integration. It assesses the extent to which there has been aconvergent response to the administrative challenges posed by membership on the part of the member states or whether a pattern of divergence endures. The question of effectiveness is also addressed.The companion volume explores co-ordination institutions, structures and procedures at the domestic level. Looking at ten member states, it offers a comprehensive comparative analysis of the way in national governments organise European policy making.