The surprising effects of transparency on the EU legislative process

Abstract

Since the 1990s, several rules have been adopted to increase the transparency of the EU legislative process. This paper explores their effects on the accountability of the actors on the basis of 70 semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The empirical study shows a relative failure of transparency rules, partly because the actors benefit of a high degree of discretion in the enforcement of rules. However, the paper argues that more than evading the rules, EU decision-makers tend to implement them strategically, that is, to redirect them toward more beneficial effects. Received: 15 April 2014 Accepted: 09 June 2014 Published online: 15 April 2016

Keywords

• transparency
• EU institutions
• decision-making process