The Council of Ministers is one of the most powerful institutions of the European Union (EU) and plays a major role in the European policy-making process. Drawing on formal theory and combining quantitative and qualitative methods in an innovative fashion, this book provides novel insights into the role of national bureaucrats in legislative decision-making of the Council of the EU.

Auteur

Frank M Häge is Lecturer in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Limerick, Ireland.

Contenu

Part 1: Introduction and Background 1.The Study of Council Committees 2. The Council's Committee System 3. Existing Research on Council Decision-Making 4.Theoretical Perspectives on Committee Decision-Making Part 2: Quantitative Analysis 5. Sample Selection 6. Describing the Extent of Committee Decision-Making 7. Explaining the Variation in Committee Decision-Making Part 3: Qualitative Analysis 8. Methodological Issues 9. Agriculture 10. Environment 11. Economic and Financial Affairs 12. Summary and Between-Sector Comparison Part 4: Synthesis and Conclusion 13. Discussion of Research Results and Theory Building 14.Conclusion