Transnational executive bodies: EU policy implementation between the EU and member state level
| Author | Rik Joosen,Gijs Jan Brandsma |
| Date | 01 June 2017 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12311 |
| Published date | 01 June 2017 |
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Transnational executive bodies: EU policy
implementation between the EU and member
state level
Rik Joosen|Gijs Jan Brandsma
School of Governance, Utrecht University,
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Correspondence
Gijs Jan Brandsma, Utrecht University, School
of Governance, Bijlhouwerstraat 6, 3511 ZC
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Email: g.j.brandsma@uu.nl
Existing typologies of the European administrative space locate
decision-making powers with the European Commission, member
state governments, and EU and national agencies, sometimes aided
through regulatory networks. This article argues that those typolo-
gies are incomplete because they do not take into account the
existence of transnational executive bodies. These are public
authorities that are responsible for administering and implement-
ing EU policies across multiple member states, that are part of nei-
ther domestic nor EU institutions and whose decisions are legally
binding. They represent a potentially highly prevalent form of gov-
ernance in a previously uncharted area of the European adminis-
trative space. We document their workings by presenting a case
study of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor organization, a transnational
executive body implementing parts of the EU rail freight policy.
1|INTRODUCTION
The study of public administration has largely been confined within the realm of national sovereignty, but policy-
making and the implementation of policies increasingly go beyond the borders of the state (Heidbreder 2015; Stone
and Ladi 2015). The European Union (EU) is an important institutional manifestation of this phenomenon. Public
administration scholars and lawyers have repeatedly identified challenges for implementation and enforcement with
international policies. States, after all, remain sovereign in the means they choose for implementing those policies
and in the effort they make.
The European Union is no exception to this. With respect to implementation and enforcement of European
policies, the leading principle is that its member states have administrative authority (Heidbreder 2011). This is why
the nexus between member states and European Union institutions is crucial for coordinating effective implementa-
tion. This nexus includes many different institutionalized forms of coordination and cooperation which have become
known as the ‘European Administrative Space’(Trondal and Peters 2013). The organizations included in this admin-
istrative space vary in the degree to which they are effectively controlled by supranational or national actors.
Many contributions over the past decade have endeavoured to map out the European administrative (or
European regulatory) space by providing detailed analyses of the functioning of specific new forms of governance.
DOI 10.1111/padm.12311
Public Administration. 2017;95:423–436.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/padm© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd423
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