Embracing the Dahrendorfian ideology of “posing all those questions that otherwise no one else dares to ask”, the European Governance Monitor (EGM) aims to bring to light crucial performance measures of key institutions across Europe. While countries wishing to join the EU undergo quality controls as outlined by the Copenhagen and Madrid Criteria from 1993 and 1995 respectively, the governance capacity and performance of existing EU members is not measured or monitored – making it possible for poor performance, even governance failures, to be hidden from the public rather than being identified and corrected. This may put not only EU institutions and member states’ governance at risk, but also the political and economic stability in Europe.
Therefore, it is critical to monitor the governance performance of institutions at the interface of the EU and the various member states. Specifically: do national institutions, such as ministries and regulatory agencies, have the governance capacity to implement EU policies; and, vice versa, do EU institutions have the capacity to develop and formulate policies that take into account the capacity of a varied group of member states?
The EGM identifies institutions, which make and implement EU policies – and focuses on the intersection of the EU and the national levels. It then measures their capacity and performance – and sheds light on the areas in need of improvement. By studying a range of EU member states, best practices will be identified to offer practical advice. The EGM generated data will be shared with practitioner communities by way of an interactive dataset and website, compact fact sheets and in-depth reports, as well as experts’ workshops. Also, the EGM results will be presented to the public in order to enhance governance transparency. In sum, the outcomes of the Monitor will offer significant value-added to advance governance performance in Europe.
The European Governance Monitor (EGM) will map and assess the performance of core institutions and agencies in charge of managing EU policies across Europe. It will start by assessing how national institutions in charge of EU policy perform. In the second phase, the EGM will be expanded to include the performance assessment at the interface of EU and national policy implementation.
Value Added
- Relevant insights and findings for practitioners and researchers dealing with EU policies
- Transparent mapping of key institutions managing EU policy
- Unpacking the “black box” of EU governance performance by developing appropriate indicators
- Creating synergies among comparative politics, public administration, EU studies and public management studies
Download the concept paper of the Europen Governance Monitor.
Launch of the European Governance Monitor – Perspectives from the inside
Expert Panel Discussion at the Dahrendorf Symposium,
Akademie der Künste, Berlin
Wednesday, 25 May 2016, 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Opening Statment
László Andor, former Commissioner and now Mercator Senior Fellow at the Hertie School of Governance
Panelists
Franziska Brantner, Member of German Parliament (deputy member of the European Committee in German Parliament) and former Member of European Parliament
Christian Kroll, Sustainable Governance Indicators Project Manager at Bertelsmann Foundation and Visiting Lecturer at the Hertie School of Governance
Isabelle Maquet, Deputy Head of Unit: Spain and Malta from the European Commission’s Directorate General on Employment and Social Affairs
Holger Winkler, Head of Unit: European Affairs in the German Federal Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs
Moderator
Josef Janning, Co-Head of the Berlin Office of the European Council on Foreign Relations and manager of the European Cohesion Monitor