INTRODUCTION

This chapter considers EU governance. It is organised as follows.

Section 2 considers the nature of EU governance. Governance was set out at greatest length in the 2001 Commission White Paper. It comprises, in the first place, a series of norms guiding the exercise of Union power. These norms are openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness, coherence, subsidiarity and proportionality. The governance agenda in the White Paper also sets out an ethos as to how the European Union is to govern and when it is to govern. It suggests that the central mission of the Union is to solve problems that cannot be resolved by the Member States unilaterally. There is flexibility about the legal instruments to be deployed, as what matters is that the problem be resolved. The concern that the problem be resolved effectively and coherently also leads to a priority being given to expert knowledge, on the one hand, as this is seen as central to knowing the problem and the solution, and to impact assessment, on the other, as this requires policy-makers to anticipate the effects of the policy on others. Finally, the commitment to openness and participation has led to an engagement by the Union with the idea of a pan-European civil society.

Section 3 examines the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Subsidiarity sets out when, acting within its powers, the Union should intervene. It is based around two logics.