The effect of public attitudes toward the European Union on European Commission policy activity
| Author | Christopher J Williams,Shaun Bevan |
| Published date | 01 December 2019 |
| Date | 01 December 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1465116519857161 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The effect of public
attitudes toward the
European Union on
European Commission
policy activity
Christopher J Williams
School of Public Affairs, University of Arkansas, Little Rock,
AR, USA
Shaun Bevan
Politics and International Relations, University of Edinburgh,
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Abstract
This study tests the relationship between public attitudes regarding the European
Union and unilateral adoption of legal acts by the European Commission (i.e. directives
and regulations). Relying on theories of policy responsiveness, as well as legislative
gridlock, we present two hypotheses with competing expectations regarding the
effect of public attitudes toward the European Union on policy-making activity in the
European Commission. The first hypothesis suggests that the Commission will unilat-
erally adopt more legal acts when public support for the European Union is greater,
while the second hypothesis suggests that the Commission will unilaterally adopt fewer
legal acts when public support for the European Union is greater. Using time series
error correction models and data from Eurobarometer surveys from 1974 to 2008, and
the European Union’s online legislative archive (EUR-Lex), these hypotheses are tested.
The results support the second hypothesis, suggesting that the European Commission
will increase unilateral legal act adoption when public attitudes are more negative
toward the European Union, while decreasing unilateral legal act adoption when the
public is more Europhilic. These findings indicate a possibility of responsibility trading
Corresponding author:
Christopher Williams, School of Public Affairs, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 University Avenue,
Little Rock, AR 72204, USA.
Email: cjwilliams6@ualr.edu
European Union Politics
2019, Vol. 20(4) 608–628
!The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1465116519857161
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between the institutions of the European Union and have important implications for
our understandings of European policy processes, political responsiveness, and demo-
cratic governance in the European Union.
Keywords
Democratic deficit, European Commission, Euroscepticism, representation,
responsiveness
The responsiveness of the European Union (EU) to the public remains a conten-
tious issue among European leaders, the media, the public, and academics alike.
The popular understanding of Europe as a government that suffers from a
“democratic deficit” has served to fuel public Euroscepticism, as well as a rise in
anti-EU political parties, and has certainly played a role in creating conditions
which led to the current “Brexit” crisis in the United Kingdom.
At the same time, recent research has suggested that there is a clear interplay
between aggregate public attitudes toward the EU and policy-making activity in
the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers (Bølstad, 2015; Franklin
and Wlezien, 1997; Toshkov, 2011). This study builds on this existing literature
and seeks to develop an original understanding of the relationship between public
opinion concerning the EU and policy-making activity in the European
Commission. Specifically, we ask, do public attitudes regarding the EU affect
the unilateral adoption of European Commission legal acts?
Understanding the connection between public attitudes toward the EU and the
adoption of European Commission legal acts (directives, regulations, and decision;
although this study is only concerned with directives and regulations) is particu-
larly important as these acts greatly affect EU policy. Commission legal acts, in the
form of implementing acts, determine how member states put EU policies into
action. Additionally, Commission legal acts, in the form of delegated acts, can
actually alter EU policies without further consulting the Council of Ministers or
European Parliament. Both implementing acts and delegated acts have significant
effects upon how EU policies are integrated into European and member state law
as well as the substance of European policies. Therefore, developing a clearer
knowledge of how public opinion regarding the EU influences policy-making in
the European Commission has important implications for the study of European
policy processes.
Furthermore, understanding how public attitudes toward the EU are related to
policy-making activity in the European Commission has important implications
for the study of policy responsiveness, political representation, and democracy in
Europe. Democracy is predicated on the assumption that the provisions of public
policy are related to the wishes of the citizens, and that policy changes are linked to
Williams and Bevan 609
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