The effectiveness of regulatory enforcement goes to the heart of all policy areas falling within EU competence, and is a key component of the EU’s credibility and legitimacy. The traditional ‘dual vigilance’ framework of enforcement has been overtaken by EU policy makers experimenting with a diverse range of legal and regulatory practices, strategies, and instruments, involving a range of actors, and which operate at EU and national level. Furthermore, patterns of enforcement vary considerably in the different policy areas (Conant, 2012, Drake & Smith, 2016, Micklitz & Wechsler, 2016, Scholten & Luchtman, 2017).
A rounded assessment of the effectiveness of a particular enforcement practice requires scholars to cross disciplinary divides. Previous attempts at interdisciplinary collaboration have underestimated the barriers posed by a lack of understanding about theoretical and methodological approaches of the different disciplines. This leads to misplaced assumptions and ‘blind spots’ which undermine the assessment of ‘effectiveness’. The panel aims to bring together scholars from different disciplines to unpack what is meant by ‘effectiveness’. This will allow greater scope for advancing a common operating language and methodology which will allow for cross-disciplinary research which delivers tangible results for policy makers.
The organisers welcome papers which refine what is meant by ‘effectiveness’ in relation to regulatory enforcement in the EU by exploring the theoretical and/or methodological perspectives adopted in their own discipline. This can be undertaken with reference to any EU policy field, practice, strategy, instrument or actor(s).
We look forward to receiving your submissions by 3rd December 2017. Please send to Dr. Sara Drake, Senior Lecturer in EU Law, Cardiff University’s School of Law and Politics DrakeS@cardiff.ac.uk