Learning from Practical Experience: Implementation Epistemic Communities in the European Union

Abstract

Literature on European Union (EU) policymaking has largely neglected how European institutions, such as the Commission, learn from experiences from the implementation of EU policies, and how this practical expertise enters the policy process. In this chapter, we explore how learning relationships between domestic implementing agencies and the Commission are shaped. The case of the 2013 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) shows that cooperation between implementing agencies in a network organisation contributed to their certification by the Commission and the establishment of a channel for frequent interactions. The following dynamic relationship was further deepened by the ability of the actors to find mutual objectives over time. It was most fruitful in fine-tuning newly introduced policy instruments, only after the finalisation of the content of the basic regulations.