The extended gatekeeper : central government and the implementation of EC regional policy in the UK
By: BANCHE, Ian
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ArticlePublisher: London : Routledge, March 1999Journal of European Public Policy 6, 1, p. 28-45Abstract: This article evaluates the merits of multi-level governance as an explanatory model of EU decision-making. Regional policy implementation is a particularly good case study for evaluating multi-level governance for two reasons. First, because regional policy, along with other EC structural policies, is considered to be at 'the leading edge of multi-level governance'. And, second, because 'Multi-level governance is prominent in the implementation stage' (Marks et al . 1996: 365). The article presents evidence to suggest that while multi-level participation is a feature of EC regional policy implementation in the UK, it is less clear that this constitutes multi-level governance: central government remains dominant. Thus, where the intergovernmentalist 'gatekeeper' notion is useful in describing the behaviour of national governments in EU policy-making, it makes sense to refer to an extended gatekeeper that can operate at all stages of the policy process, including the contested sphere of policy implementation.
This article evaluates the merits of multi-level governance as an explanatory model of EU decision-making. Regional policy implementation is a particularly good case study for evaluating multi-level governance for two reasons. First, because regional policy, along with other EC structural policies, is considered to be at 'the leading edge of multi-level governance'. And, second, because 'Multi-level governance is prominent in the implementation stage' (Marks et al . 1996: 365). The article presents evidence to suggest that while multi-level participation is a feature of EC regional policy implementation in the UK, it is less clear that this constitutes multi-level governance: central government remains dominant. Thus, where the intergovernmentalist 'gatekeeper' notion is useful in describing the behaviour of national governments in EU policy-making, it makes sense to refer to an extended gatekeeper that can operate at all stages of the policy process, including the contested sphere of policy implementation.
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