There has been much discussion in recent years over the possible disengagement of citizens from the political institutions of the European Union. Many academics contend that this is due to the fact that the EU suffers from a democratic deficit and that the EU is perceived as a project made by and for the political elite. The European Commission is at the heart of the EU system and it has been studied more than any other EU institution. However, it is still difficult to understand how the Commission operates within the demanding and turbulent EU polity. Organisation and public policy studies provide useful theoretical insights for the understanding of decision-making and information processing in organisations. Drawing upon European Commission studies, and policy-making and organisational studies, this thesis seeks to contribute to the understanding of the Commission's modus operandi by providing an in depth analysis of policy-making activities within the Commission from an information processing perspective. The originality of this thesis is that it examines the Commission, not only as a policy-making organism, but also as a dynamic information-processing organism. The examination of information processing begins with critical examination of the Commission institutional framework as depicted in its Manual of Operational Procedures (MOP). In addition, three specific EU policies are investigated: a non-regulatory policy, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative; a regulatory policy, the toys safety Directive (TSD), and an Open-Method of Coordination policy, innovation policy. Analysis of information processing within the Commission policy making leads to the development of a new explanatory framework, the Politico-Rational Explanatory Framework (PREF). This thesis shows that while Commission rules and procedures can partially explain policy-making and information processing within the Commission, it is the political processes that condition and determine how the Commission processes information. 13
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:529266 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | |Koundouraki, Evangelia |
| Publisher | Manchester Metropolitan University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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