Premium
Scope of Negative Integration: A Comparative Analysis of Post, Public Transport and Port Services
Author(s) -
Leiren Merethe Dotterud
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/jcms.12213
Subject(s) - liberalization , scope (computer science) , leverage (statistics) , public interest , business , port (circuit theory) , foundation (evidence) , economics , international economics , political science , public economics , international trade , public administration , law , market economy , electrical engineering , machine learning , computer science , programming language , engineering
There is extensive literature that explains how liberalization policy deepens and widens. In the literature of E uropean integration such reform is commonly considered to be the result of a bias towards liberalization in the treaties, thereby giving the E uropean C ommission and the E uropean C ourt of J ustice wide‐ranging leverage to enforce such reform. However, such approaches have been criticized for being de‐politicized – for failing to understand the conflicts inherent in controversial policies. It is therefore of interest to explore the scope conditions of this constitutional bias assumption in areas where liberalization policy is disputed. This article analyzes the EU decision‐making processes across the postal, public transport and port service sectors, highlighting three key conditions, in addition to the treaties' legal foundation. These are: the organization of public services; mobilization by large interests, such as trade unions; and how willing the E uropean C ommission is to give in to concessional demands.