Connecting the dots: a closer look at the linkage between EU implementation experiences and EU policy change

Abstract

EU policy studies typically treat implementation and policy formulation as distinct stages. As a result, we lack a systematic understanding of the impact of implementation experiences on EU policy change. Insights on the feedback of implementation experiences to the EU level, however, are important to further the debate about the resilience, responsiveness and problem-solving capacities of the EU. The aim of this article is develop a research agenda which facilitates more systematic studies on the impact of implementation experiences on EU policy change. Based on a review of EU implementation and policy change studies, various theories of the policy process and an analysis of the EU policy setting, several expectations and research questions are formulated about which factors explain when implementation experiences are mobilized, gain access to the policy process, are used by policymakers at the EU level and what effects this may have on policy change.