Mobilizing expertise: The role of implementing agencies in Common Agricultural Policy reforms

Literature on the EU policy process has largely neglected how European institutions, such as the Commission, learn from experiences during the implementation of EU policies, and how these lessons influence subsequent policy... [ view full abstract ]

Literature on the EU policy process has largely neglected how European institutions, such as the Commission, learn from experiences during the implementation of EU policies, and how these lessons influence subsequent policy stages. National implementation agencies play a significant role in interpreting, implementing and evaluating EU policies. In line with its “better regulation” initiative, aimed at improving the quality of EU regulation, the Commission increasingly shows interest in such ‘implementation expertise’ from implementation agencies.
To understand this process of policy learning, this article will look at how, and through which channels, or arenas, national implementation agencies mobilize their expertise on the implementation of EU policies in order to influence new policy cycles. To this end, the article will study the strategies used by implementing agencies before and during the Health Check of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2008 and its most recent reform in 2013, and how the Commission has responded to these attempts in their policy proposals.
Special interest will be paid to the Learning Network, an expert-network founded by member state implementation agencies after the 2008 CAP reforms, through which they started to advice the Commission on the implementation aspects of its policies.
By studying the efforts and strategies of national implementing agencies through interviews and document analyses, this article will provide new insights in the understanding of how practical expertise contributes to policy learning in complex organizations, such as the EU.