How the Enlargement Affects European Union Legislative Process

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2024.8.1.269

Abstract

This article contributes to the ongoing debate regarding the systemic impact of EU enlargements on the duration of the legislative process. Two methods, interrupted time series analysis and survival analysis (the Cox model), are used to show the effects of enlargements, using empirical data comprising EU secondary law directives and regulations. A key distinction of this study from most similar research lies in its focus on distinguishing between legislative and implementing acts, which mitigates the risk of conflating the analysis due to substantial differences in their adoption processes. The methodology and research design help us disentangle the enlargement effects from those of the Treaty reforms and other institutional and structural parameters of the EU decision-making process. The findings reveal a significant acceleration of the legislative process at the moment of the 2004 enlargement, essentially confirming our prior research results. The validity of our conclusions is substantially enhanced by the improvements in modeling techniques. The article also explores potential reasons for the acceleration of the legislative process and concludes that the most likely cause is the refinement of working methods in the Council.

Author Biographies

Nikolay Yu. Kaveshnikov, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), Moscow, Russia

Nikolay Yu. Kaveshnikov, Cand. Sci. (Political Science) is the Head of Department of Integration Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University). He also holds an office of Leading Research Fellow at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Science. Nikolay Yu. Kaveshnikov has 25 years of experience in European integration studies. His research interests include institutional development of the European Union, EU external relations and EU–Russia relations, EU energy policy, institutional and political aspects of the development of the Eurasian Economic Union. He published the book Transformation of the Institutional Structure of the European Union [in Russian] (2010). He is a co-editor of the textbook European Integration [in Russian] (2016), which is the first comprehensive Russian textbook on European integration for students in international relations and regional studies. His major recent academic piece is the textbook European Union: History, Institutions, Policies [in Russian] (2021).

Aleksey O. Domanov, Institute of Europe, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Aleksey O. Domanov is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He earned a MA degree in Regional Studies from MGIMO University (2014). Aleksey O. Domanov has 12 years of research experience in international relations and European studies. His interests also include public perception of international regulatory regimes and institutional distrust (mainly Euroscepticism), cognitive factors of decision-making and legitimacy, EU institutional structure. His current research focuses on applying quantitative methods. His studies were supported by grants from the Russian Science Foundation and Russian Ministry Science and Higher Education.

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Published
2024-04-05
How to Cite
Kaveshnikov, N., & Domanov, A. (2024). How the Enlargement Affects European Union Legislative Process. Changing Societies & Personalities, 8(1), 151–172. doi:10.15826/csp.2024.8.1.269
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Vol. 8, No. 1 (2024): Special Issue “Social Participation as a Factor That Changes Societies and Personalities”
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Articles