IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jcmkts/v57y2019i2p205-222.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Competence Creep Revisited

Author

Listed:
  • Sacha Garben

Abstract

How is it that regardless of the reforms introduced by the Lisbon Treaty to better contain European integration in areas of core state powers, ‘competence creep’ can continue? What is the underlying cause? And why is it problematic? This article proposes answers to these questions through a systematic (re‐)conceptualization of the problem of ‘competence creep’, arguing that it results from the cross‐cutting governance that is the legal Leitmotif of European integration as well as from ‘two‐level games’ of national governments, and that it is problematic from the viewpoint of democratic legitimacy. However, it argues that the one form of competence creep that is most commonly understood as the core problem, and on which most reforms have focused, namely indirect legislation in areas of Member State competence, is actually the least worrying type of covert integration; negative and parallel integration, soft law and co‐ordination are all far more problematic.

Suggested Citation

  • Sacha Garben, 2019. "Competence Creep Revisited," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 205-222, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:57:y:2019:i:2:p:205-222
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.12643
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.12643
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jcms.12643?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:57:y:2019:i:2:p:205-222. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-9886 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.