Competence and control in European integration

Abstract

The panel introduces competence-control theory as an approach to European integration. Standard theories of integration (neofunctionalism, various intergovernmentalisms, failing forward) focus on the creation of European competencies (i.e. the ability to solve public problems) alone. We argue that control is becoming increasingly important as a second explanatory factor for European integration. Approaches like postfunctionalism or the joint-decision trap highlight the importance of control but in limited domains. Competence-control theory generalises control as a motive and extends it to new actors such as parliaments and courts and applies to both the control of EU institutions by domestic actors (the ‘integration’ perspective) and to the control of domestic policies by EU institutions (the ‘Europeanization’ perspective). The papers develop the theoretical argument for the interplay of competence and control in their respective fields of analysis and use it to generate new empirical findings.

Title	Details
Joint operations of EU and national agencies	View Paper Details
Controlled openness: Control-driven rebordering in the European Union	View Paper Details
The EU’s resource integration dilemma: A competence-control perspective on the rise of joint capacities	View Paper Details