Managing the EU Policy Cycle: A Comprehensive One-Week Course on EU Decision-Making in Practice - Montesquieu Instituut

Target Group

Regional, national and EU officials, as well as interested stakeholders. Although this one-week course on decision-making was developed with the needs of civil servants in mind, it is equally suitable for other professional groups dealing with EU affairs.

Description

Participants are given a comprehensive overview of European decision-making, following the legislative policy cycle, from initiation through decision-making, to implementation. The first stage examines how the Commission elaborates a proposal, with particular attention on impact assessment. This is followed by a review of internal procedures in the Council and Parliament, as well as interinstitutional negotiations. Participants will learn to manage negotiations in a complex environment and will see the impact of bargaining and compromise-building on the policy process. To round off, the seminar will look at policy implementation, with a particular emphasis on the role of committees. The final session looks back at the entire policy cycle, providing a comprehensive overview with regard to information and documentation management at the EU level, and from among myriad sources of information and registers of primary documents on EU policy- and decision-making.

Learning Methodology

The course is based on presentations, case studies, exercises, simulations and guided discussions. It covers the entire policy cycle in one comprehensive course - not only encompassing the different stages (policy initiation, legislative decision-making, delegated and implementing acts), but also offering participants more in-depth knowledge about EU procedures with an insight into the kinds of skills and challenges involved in European negotiations.

Objectives

This comprehensive course will give participants a thorough and well-rounded view of the EU machinery, its institutions and decision-making procedures. By the end of the seminar, participants will be able to manage a European dossier through all the relevant stages of the EU policy process, from inception to implementation, as well as developing the personal skills to enable them to perform better when dealing with European affairs.

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