Empowering and controlling the Commission after the 2016 Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-making

Following the introduction of delegated acts alongside the implementing acts by the Treaty of Lisbon, the legislative negotiations framing the empowerment and the control over the Commission were marked by lack of shared understanding and the pursuit of respective institutional preferences. The 2016 Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-making (IIABLM) and a number of helpful judgements by the Court of Justice of the European Union brought about a renewed commitment for the use of delegated and implementing acts, an approximation in understanding of the framework for empowerment (albeit with a postponement with regard to the criteria for delegated and implementing acts) and changes to the framework for control over the Commission when exercising its delegated powers. The paper examines the changing frameworks for empowerment and control, the adapting institutional approaches and the practice of framing of the empowerments for and control of the Commission following the 2016 IIABLM changes. It aims to provide a preliminary assessment of the evolution post-2016 IIABLM with regard the shared understanding among the institutions on the two frameworks and the pursuit of institutional preferences.