This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kaeding, M. Articles by Selck, T. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Mapping Out Political Europe: Coalition Patterns in EU Decision-Making

Leiden University, kaeding{at}fsw.leidenuniv.nl

Torsten J. Selck

University of Groningen, t.j.selck{at}let.rug.nl

This article evaluates member states’ and supranational institutions’ preference patterns in European Union decision-making. We present a research design that encompasses data on the policy profiles of the 15 member states, the Commission, and the European Parliament for 70 European legal acts that were negotiated just before the May 2004 enlargement. We apply principal-component analysis which results in reduction of the different policy issues into a three-dimensional solution. The Commission and the European Parliament are much more favorable toward increased integration than the Council members are. Thus, there appears to be a "north versus south" coalition pattern rather than a "Franco-German axis." The positions of Ireland and Belgium indicate that the member states’ status as net contributors or net receivers of European Union subsidies are important. Our findings do not support the pro-less integrationist argument nor the left-right dimension that reconciles economic and sociopolitical issues.

Key Words: Coalition pattern • Council of Ministers • European Commission • European Parliament • European Union

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. M. Hage Committee Decision-making in the Council of the European Union European Union Politics, September 1, 2007; 8(3): 299 - 328. [Abstract] [PDF]