1st Edition

The Accountability Gap in EU law

By Marios Costa Copyright 2017
    177 Pages
    by Routledge

    178 Pages
    by Routledge

    Almost two decades ago, the fall of the Santer Commission against a background of allegations of maladministration and nepotism had the effect of placing accountability on the political agenda of the EU institutions. More recently, the non-ratification of the Constitutional Treaty, the difficulties of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and the current financial crisis have increased the calls for accountability in the EU.



    This book investigates whether any progress towards more accountability and transparency has been made in the post-Lisbon era by taking a holistic approach to the subject. Marios Costa argues that currently the EU institutions and the Member States are not in a position to hold the so-called independent agencies as well as the various committees and expert groups accountable. Despite recent progress, the EU still needs to put forward an acceptable constitutional framework which will truly secure accountability at the EU level of governance.

    1. Introduction  2. Centralized accountability and transparency  3. Accountability and EU Agencies  4. Accountability of the various EU committees and expert groups  5. Legal accountability and the role of the EU courts 6. Conclusion

    Biography

    Marios Costa is a senior lecturer at City University London, UK.

    `This is a thoughtful and very well balanced monograph in the area of accountability and legitimacy in the European Union. Overall, the book provides a timely evaluation and offers a much needed conceptual understanding with regards to the ongoing debate of the EU’s accountability deficit'.

    Professor Steve Peers, University of Essex, UK