The european competition network in the european administrative system: Theoretical concerns

Abstract

The public administration of the European Union (EU) is a sui generis multi-level structure under constant development. After five decades of successful functioning, the European Union still lacks a coherent and comprehensive set of codified rules of administrative procedure at all levels. The existing acquis related to European administration and administrative procedures is fragmented, sector specific and although it is based on the constitutional principles of the democratic traditions of its Member States, such coincidence is often insufficient for the present requirements of good administration. The EU basically relies on indirect administration, while a growing number of cooperation forms exists of the competent authorities that aims to ensure efficacy of execution and to overcome diversity of non-harmonised legal areas. The aim of this paper is to place the European Competition Network (ECN) in this structure, explore and examine its legal nature as it is probably the most advanced example for such cooperation. The ECN incorporates and reveals the major procedural law questions of European administration; it is a rather successful form of cooperation, and although its core issues fail to correspond to the fundamental requirements of European administrative procedures, there seem to be positive changes in the evaluation of soft law and the functioning of the system.