Europeanization of policy-making

The EUs ability to establish common European policies varies across policy areas and over time. The article discusses three working hypotheses about the EU-system which influence Europeanization of policy in an area. The first is that decision-making is characterized by competing principles and rules; procedures reflecting supernational authority versus international negotiations. The second is that EU represents a strategy for collective action which frequently is at odds with underlying interests among and within member countries. The third hypothesis is that, unlike national political systems, political cycles affect not only particular issues and groups; such variations also affect the basic legitimacy of the EU-system itself. The article then shows how the three hypotheses may be combined into a framework for empirical analysis of Europeanization.