Administrative Procedures and the Implementation of EU Law and Policies -- Contribution by the Research Network on EU Administrative Law (Reneual) Project on Administrative Procedure to the EU Commission's 'Assises De La Justice' Conference in Brussels -- 21-22 November 2013 to the Topic of EU Administrative Law

Abstract

Well-designed rules of administrative procedure for implementation of EU law and policies will have beneficial effects both for effectiveness of implementation as well as for the realisation of general principles of EU law: A codification of EU administrative procedure law has the potential improve compliance with the rule of law and the principle of legality in the EU, to enhance legal certainty and further the principles of good administration, to simplify the diversity of procedures and make more transparent rights and obligations of individuals and administrations alike. This will not be without effect on increasing the legitimacy of exercise of public powers in the Union.

In order to live up to this potential, EU administrative procedure law needs to overcome its fragmentation. So far, each sector-specific legislation, despite addressing common problems, differs with respect to the formulation of procedural provisions. One of the central challenges for regulating EU administrative procedures is finding solutions for the forms of intense procedural cooperation between national and European administrative actors through ‘composite procedures’ characterised by multi-jurisdictional input into decision-making. The multiplication of composite procedures across the policy fields of the EU, furthering de-central administration of a single legal space under the concept of subsidiarity, currently has the potential of diffusing responsibility and endangering the constitutionally guaranteed right to an effective remedy.

The ReNEUAL draft model rules on administrative procedure have been developed and discussed together with lawyers from practice and academia and from all over Europe. They are designed to offer solutions of how to ensure modern, state of the art and tailor-made solutions to the challenges facing implementation of EU law and policies in today’s realities of integrated administration.