Revisiting the ‘Management Deficit’: Can the Commission (Still Not) Manage Europe?

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the chapter is to examine whether the challenges to administering the EU outlined by Les Metcalfe in his famous article, ‘After 1992, can the Commission manage Europe?’ have now been met. Metcalfe not only identified a ‘management deficit’ in the implementation of the single market programme arising from an oversight among policy makers, but highlighted a neglect of the administrative dimension of European integration among scholars.

Methodology/approach

The chapter draws on primary and secondary literature to track developments in respect of the three elements identified by Metcalfe: the small size of the European Commission, its poor internal coordination and weak leadership; the responsiveness of administrative bodies in the member states to the need for inter-organizational coordination; and the network-building and management capacity of the Commission.

Findings

Despite changes, such as further enlargement, agencification at national and EU levels, and the expansion of EU competencies that have exacerbated the management challenge confronting the EU, there have been significant developments that have closed the deficit. First, the Commission has become far better integrated, coordination upgraded, and leadership strengthened. Second, through networking, cooptation and other strategies the Commission has sought to assure the effective implementation and enforcement of the single market rules. Third, member state governments, ministries and agencies have sought to cultivate networked relations that have increased the manageability of EU administration.

Research implications

To the knowledge of this author, this is the first attempt to revisit Metcalfe’s diagnosis and to review the extent to which the management deficit he identified has been addressed subsequently.

Practical implications

The chapter has implications for how inter-organizational coordination within the EU administrative system could be improved.

Social implications

The chapter bears on the administrative capacity of the EU to deliver the policies decided by EU policy makers.

Originality/value

As well as offering an assessment of the extent to which progress has been made in addressing the management deficit identified by Les Metcalfe in his classic article, this chapter conceptualizes the EU administration as an entity that encompasses both EU institutions and administrative bodies in the member states. It advances the concept of the EU as a multi-level administration.

Citation

Kassim, H. (2015), "Revisiting the ‘Management Deficit’: Can the Commission (Still Not) Manage Europe?", Multi-Level Governance: The Missing Linkages (Critical Perspectives on International Public Sector Management, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 41-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2045-794420150000004003