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Zusatztext All of the chapters are excellent, and a particular strength is that each follows a common format, which facilitated the cross-national comparison in the concluding chapter ... this is a useful addition to the theoretical and empirical literature on European integration. Klappentext The second of two volumes to examine how European Union member states coordinate their European policies, this book investigates the structures, institutions, and processes implemented by national governments in Brussels. It offers a detailed examination of the organization, operation, and performance of permanent representations, and their role in national systems of EU policy making, and looks at the extent to which interaction within a common institutional environment has brought about convergence between national arrangements. Zusammenfassung This book is the second of two volumes that examine how EU member states co-ordinate their European policies. In this second volume, the focus is on the European level. The book investigates the strategies deployed by eleven member states -- Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom - and examines the role played by the permanent representation, and the structures and processes that link national officials in Brussels and at home. From a comparative perspective, the book identifies and assesses the organisation, functions and effectiveness of the permanent representation, and the part that it plays in the national system of co-ordination. It considers the influences that have shaped systems of national co-ordination -- the demands exerted by Union membership, the institutional structure of the national polity, the pre-existing balance between domestic institutions, administrative norms and values, and attitudes, both popular and elite, to European integration. It assesses the extent to which there has been a convergent response to the administrative challenges posed by membership on the part of the member states or whether a pattern of divergence endures. The question of effectiveness is also addressed.The companion volume explores co-ordination institutions, structures and procedures at the domestic level. Looking at ten member states, it offers a comprehensive comparative analysis of the way in national governments organise European policy making. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction: Co-ordinating National Action in Brussels 1: Hussien Kassim: United Kingdom 2: Anand Menon: The French Administration in Brussels 3: Andreas Maurer and Wolfgang Wessels: The German Case: A Key Moderator in a Competitive Multi-Level Environment The German Case: A Key Moderator in a Competitive Multi-Level Environment 4: Giacinto della Cananea: Italy 5: Calliope Spanou: Permanent Challenges? Representing Greece in Brussels 6: José M.Magone: The Portuguese Permanent Representation in Brussels: The Institutionalization of a Simple System 7: Bart Kerremans and Jan Beyers: The Belgian Permanent Representation to the European Union: Mailbox, Messenger or Representative? 8: Rudy B.Andeweg and Ben Soetendorp: National Co-ordination in Brussels? The Role of the Dutch PR to the EU 9: Wolfgang C. Müller: Ministerial Government at the European Level: The Case of Austria 10: Sonia Mazey: The Swedish Permanent Representation to the EU: Melding National and Collective Interests 11: Brigid Laffan: National Co-ordination in Brussels: The Role of Ireland's Permanent Representation Conclusion: Co-ordinating National Action in Brussels - A Comparative Perspective ...
