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The effect of public attitudes toward the European Union on European Commission policy activity

Author

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  • Christopher J Williams

    (School of Public Affairs, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR, USA)

  • Shaun Bevan

    (Politics and International Relations, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK)

Abstract

This study tests the relationship between public attitudes regarding the European Union and unilateral adoption of legal acts by the European Commission (i.e. directives and regulations). Relying on theories of policy responsiveness, as well as legislative gridlock, we present two hypotheses with competing expectations regarding the effect of public attitudes toward the European Union on policy-making activity in the European Commission. The first hypothesis suggests that the Commission will unilaterally adopt more legal acts when public support for the European Union is greater, while the second hypothesis suggests that the Commission will unilaterally adopt fewer legal acts when public support for the European Union is greater. Using time series error correction models and data from Eurobarometer surveys from 1974 to 2008, and the European Union’s online legislative archive (EUR-Lex), these hypotheses are tested. The results support the second hypothesis, suggesting that the European Commission will increase unilateral legal act adoption when public attitudes are more negative toward the European Union, while decreasing unilateral legal act adoption when the public is more Europhilic. These findings indicate a possibility of responsibility trading between the institutions of the European Union and have important implications for our understandings of European policy processes, political responsiveness, and democratic governance in the European Union.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher J Williams & Shaun Bevan, 2019. "The effect of public attitudes toward the European Union on European Commission policy activity," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(4), pages 608-628, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:20:y:2019:i:4:p:608-628
    DOI: 10.1177/1465116519857161
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nicole Baerg & Mark Hallerberg, 2022. "Council Checks of the Commission under the European Semester: Does Member State Power and Euroscepticism Still Matter?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 58-80, January.
    2. Jonathan Golub, 2024. "EUPROPS: A new dataset on policymaking in the European Union from 1958 to 2021," European Union Politics, , vol. 25(1), pages 197-217, March.
    3. Daniel Finke, 2020. "At loggerheads over state aid: Why the Commission rejects aid and governments comply," European Union Politics, , vol. 21(3), pages 474-496, September.
    4. Christian Rauh, 2021. "One agenda-setter or many? The varying success of policy initiatives by individual Directorates-General of the European Commission 1994–2016," European Union Politics, , vol. 22(1), pages 3-24, March.
    5. Rauh, Christian, 2021. "One agenda-setter or many? The varying success of policy initiatives by individual Directorates-General of the European Commission 1994–2016," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 22(1), pages 3-24.

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