The European Commission’s Expert Groups: Adapting to the Contestation of Expertise
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review
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The Contestation of Expertise in the European Union. ed. / Vigjilenca Abazi; Johan Adriaensen; Thomas Christiansen. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. p. 91-121 (European Administrative Governance).
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review
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RIS
TY - CHAP
T1 - The European Commission’s Expert Groups
T2 - CERiM Annual Conference
AU - Radulova, Elissaveta
AU - Breuer, Johanna
AU - Spendzharova, Aneta
N1 - Conference code: 2
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Considering the growing contestation of expertise in the public sphere, this chapter explores the institutionalisation of expert groups and how the European Commission (EC) has adapted its use of expertise. Drawing on established conceptualisations about the functions of expertise during the policy-making process, our analysis is two-fold. Firstly, we consider macro level changes and broader trends in the entire Expert Groups (EGs) system. Secondly, we examine the micro level changes of expert advice use in two case studies. Based on new data from the Commission’s register of EGs, as well as on interviews, primary and secondary sources, we find improvements with regard to transparency, conceptualised as improved access to the register. The EC has also specified better the classification of different types of experts. Furthermore, the two case studies of EGs—focusing on financial sustainability and lowering limits of industrial pollution—show that the use of expertise is both instrumental and strategic. Concretely, the strategic (consensus-building) use of expertise helped to narrow down the range of viewpoints. Eventually, this facilitated the identification of compromises and acceptable policy solutions in the policy shaping stage of the EU legislative process.
AB - Considering the growing contestation of expertise in the public sphere, this chapter explores the institutionalisation of expert groups and how the European Commission (EC) has adapted its use of expertise. Drawing on established conceptualisations about the functions of expertise during the policy-making process, our analysis is two-fold. Firstly, we consider macro level changes and broader trends in the entire Expert Groups (EGs) system. Secondly, we examine the micro level changes of expert advice use in two case studies. Based on new data from the Commission’s register of EGs, as well as on interviews, primary and secondary sources, we find improvements with regard to transparency, conceptualised as improved access to the register. The EC has also specified better the classification of different types of experts. Furthermore, the two case studies of EGs—focusing on financial sustainability and lowering limits of industrial pollution—show that the use of expertise is both instrumental and strategic. Concretely, the strategic (consensus-building) use of expertise helped to narrow down the range of viewpoints. Eventually, this facilitated the identification of compromises and acceptable policy solutions in the policy shaping stage of the EU legislative process.
KW - Politics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85125497812&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-030-54367-9_5
DO - 10.1007/978-3-030-54367-9_5
M3 - Article in conference proceedings
AN - SCOPUS:85125497812
SN - 978-3-030-54366-2
SN - 978-3-030-54369-3
SN - 978-3-030-54368-6
T3 - European Administrative Governance
SP - 91
EP - 121
BT - The Contestation of Expertise in the European Union
A2 - Abazi, Vigjilenca
A2 - Adriaensen, Johan
A2 - Christiansen, Thomas
PB - Palgrave Macmillan
CY - Cham
Y2 - 20 April 2017
ER -