A Study of Organisational Power in the European Union: The complex and unbalanced power potential of the Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament
Harju, Paula (2007)
Kuvaus
Kokotekstiversiota ei ole saatavissa.
Tiivistelmä
The European Union is a remarkable actor when it comes to the European citizens, the organisational researchers, the member states, and the rest of the world. EU’s main institutions use enormous powers in their every-day work. Thus, it is interesting to find out where these powers come from. The goal of the research was to answer to the following research questions: What kind of features does power in an organisation have; who are the ones that have power and why; what are the resources that give the power-holder the potential to use power; how do these features of power appear in the work of European Union’s three main institutions: the Commission, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament; and finally, what can be said about the future of organisational power in the European Union?
The theory of the research defined that power in an organisation may derive from four different sources: personal qualities; tradition; official position; or expertise and knowledge. These are the sources that differentiate those who exercise power from those who are subject to it. The potential for using power may come from four different power bases: the control of punishments; the control of rewards; the control of information; and, the control of social networks.
This research was a document analysis on a ten year’s (1997−2007) cross-section of international academic discussion about the European Union institutions. The analysis was made by searching the key features of the power sources and bases in the interaction of the EU’s three main institutions in the co-decision procedure. The interest was to see whether the power sources and bases varied in different institutions and situations; how the power was balanced; and what kind of effect did they cause to the relations of the institutions.
The research showed that the organisational power sources and bases were, indeed, clearly present in the interaction of the Commission’s, Council’s and Parliament’s work. The Commission had the widest set of power sources and bases. It is an institution with highly appreciated expertise and knowledge, which both are most clearly emphasised in the early stage of the legislation process. Through its expertise and knowledge the Commission also controls information, which is very important to the whole legislation process. The Council is first and foremost a decision-maker, who represents the member states. Thus, power that derives from official position, and power that derives from tradition give it a powerful position. Because the meetings of the Council are not open to public, it also controls the kind of information that the Parliament, for example, does not have. The Parliament, for its part, is a co-decision-maker, whose role as the democratic voice of the citizens gives it a powerful status. The Parliament also controls punishments, rewards and information in relation to both the Commission and the Council through its ability to comment on the other institutions’ actions in public. The power relations, altogether, are in the centre of the discussion about the future of the European Union. In order to change the power balance, one has to know where the power comes from. This study answered to this question for the EU’s part. What is yet undiscovered, is the direction towards which the different actors of the European Union want the power balance to develop.
The theory of the research defined that power in an organisation may derive from four different sources: personal qualities; tradition; official position; or expertise and knowledge. These are the sources that differentiate those who exercise power from those who are subject to it. The potential for using power may come from four different power bases: the control of punishments; the control of rewards; the control of information; and, the control of social networks.
This research was a document analysis on a ten year’s (1997−2007) cross-section of international academic discussion about the European Union institutions. The analysis was made by searching the key features of the power sources and bases in the interaction of the EU’s three main institutions in the co-decision procedure. The interest was to see whether the power sources and bases varied in different institutions and situations; how the power was balanced; and what kind of effect did they cause to the relations of the institutions.
The research showed that the organisational power sources and bases were, indeed, clearly present in the interaction of the Commission’s, Council’s and Parliament’s work. The Commission had the widest set of power sources and bases. It is an institution with highly appreciated expertise and knowledge, which both are most clearly emphasised in the early stage of the legislation process. Through its expertise and knowledge the Commission also controls information, which is very important to the whole legislation process. The Council is first and foremost a decision-maker, who represents the member states. Thus, power that derives from official position, and power that derives from tradition give it a powerful position. Because the meetings of the Council are not open to public, it also controls the kind of information that the Parliament, for example, does not have. The Parliament, for its part, is a co-decision-maker, whose role as the democratic voice of the citizens gives it a powerful status. The Parliament also controls punishments, rewards and information in relation to both the Commission and the Council through its ability to comment on the other institutions’ actions in public. The power relations, altogether, are in the centre of the discussion about the future of the European Union. In order to change the power balance, one has to know where the power comes from. This study answered to this question for the EU’s part. What is yet undiscovered, is the direction towards which the different actors of the European Union want the power balance to develop.