The quiet transformation of the EU Commission cabinet system

Although cabinets in the European Commission have attracted considerable interest, scholarly attention has mainly focused on their composition and influence. How the status of cabinets or the relations between them have changed over time, and how cabinets have been affected by changes to the wider i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of European public policy Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 354 - 374
Main Authors Bauer, Michael W., Kassim, Hussein, Connolly, Sara
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Routledge 01.02.2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Cabinet
cabinets
Coordination
Differentiation
European Commission
gradual institutional change
historical institutionalism
presidentialization
Transformation
Tribunals & commissions
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Summary:Although cabinets in the European Commission have attracted considerable interest, scholarly attention has mainly focused on their composition and influence. How the status of cabinets or the relations between them have changed over time, and how cabinets have been affected by changes to the wider institutional environment, has gone largely unexamined. This article takes a step towards filling that gap. It argues that, despite apparent stability in the functions that cabinets perform, the cabinet system has undergone a quiet transformation. A new differentiation has created hierarchical relations within the cabinet system, with implications for policy coordination and output. Using historical institutionalist theory, the article shows that Commission cabinets have been affected less by reforms addressed directly at them and more by internal rule change aimed at other parts of their institutional environment.
ISSN:1350-1763
1466-4429
DOI:10.1080/13501763.2021.2003423