Coordinated European governance: Self organising or centrally steered?

A key question troubling the managers of the European Union (EU) is how can Europe be kept manageable? De-regulation, decentralisation and enlargement are increasing the heterogeneity of the EU and putting the present governance model under pressure. In its 2001 White Paper, the Commission showed that it interprets governance to mean less central control and more network-led steering. Drawing upon an empirical study of environmental policy integration (EPI) in the EU, this article shows that this vision may not adequately fit the multi-actor, multi-level characteristics of some EU problems. By studying the administrative capacities that the European Commission and three member states (Germany, the Netherlands and the UK) have created to discharge this responsibility, this article shows significant administrative weaknesses at actor and at network level. Effective European networks - and hence governance - require considerably more central steering than the White Paper suggests

Coordinating European Union environmental policy: Shifting from passive to active coordination

Environmental policy provides one of the oldest and most puzzling cases of policy coordination in the European Union (EU). The integration (or mainstreaming) of environmental objectives into non environmental policies such as agriculture, energy and transport, has a long history and commands high level political support among heads of state. However, the implementation of environmental policy integration (EPI) has not yet matched these ambitions. One of the main problems is that EPI has been seen as a macro problem of drafting sweeping statements and writing long term integration strategies. The need to embed EPI in micro policy processes i.e. the bottom-up formulation and implementation of EU policies in administrative settings has, however, mostly been ignored. This paper analyses the administrative coordination mechanisms at the micro-level within the Commission, the Netherlands and UK governments to gauge how fit they are to deliver on the EUs broader EPI objective. Using different theories of coordination, this paper concludes that all three have relied too heavily on setting long term coordination targets, without putting in place the administrative coordination (i.e. delivery) mechanisms. This paper concludes that the EUs macro approach (dubbed the Cardiff process) cannot perform effectively without the support of implementing actions at the micro level. At the same time, activities at the micro level need the political commitment expressed at the macro level. Moreover, environmental information needs to be transferred within and between the actors in a much more active manner so that environmental impacts can be designed out of policy proposals early on in the policy process. The conclusion of this study is that, in the face of greater interdependence between policies and the concomitant demand for greater policy coordination, passive coordination has had its day. But for many different reasons, the actors have not yet come to grips with what is required to implement active coordination

Naar een andere kennisagenda voor de GGZ

De kennisagenda ‘Psychische gezondheid, een maatschappelijk belang’ is een uitwerking van een convenant tussen ggz Nederland, ZonMW en het Trimbos-instituut met de intentie tot samenwerking in het kader van kennisbeleid. De kennisagenda moet ‘coördinatie en sturing’ teweegbrengen op het gebied van kennisbeleid; ook moet de agenda ‘de kloof tussen weten en doen overbruggen’. In de brief wordt bezwaar gemaakt tegen de aanname dat de toegankelijkheid zou zijn verbeterd, dat evidence based zorg de ziektelast zou halveren, maar vooral tegen de toenemende instrumentalisering van de ggz, die de professionaliteit van de hulpverlener ondermijnt

From Subsidiarity to Better EU Governance: A Practical Reform Agenda for the EU. CEPS Essay No. 10, 8 April 2014

On 23 January 2014, a group of 73 member states’ officials and representatives from the European institutions and academia gathered at Clingendael Park in The Hague for a day-long seminar co-organised by the Netherlands Institute of International Relations and CEPS for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The seminar’s aim was to discuss whether subsidiarity can offer a way forward that reconciles the need for better EU governance with concerns about legitimacy. This paper is based on subsidiarity literature, on preparatory talks with officials from member states and EU institutions and on the discussions in the seminar in The Hague. In particular, the paper explores the political and practical relevance of some of the ideas currently being considered to solidify the principle of subsidiarity in day-to-day decision-making. It maps the current political contours of subsidiarity as they appear in speeches and policy papers and presents some of the main ideas in the current debate on deepening subsidiarity

The 2017 elections across Europe: facts, expectations and consequences. European democracy: baptism by vote or by fire? EPC Discussion Paper, 14 March 2017

In the upcoming weeks and months national elections will be held in four founding member states of the EU: the Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy. With radical, anti-establishment forces on the (far) left or (far) right side of the political spectrum riding the gusty populist headwinds across Europe (and beyond), many fear that the results will mirror earlier electoral upheavals such as Brexit and the election of Trump, raising the stakes of the votes for each national context, as well as for the EU as a whole. This Discussion Paper takes a closer look at the upcoming elections in all four countries, presenting the domestic political dynamics at play, assessing various possible governing coalitions in the aftermath of the vote and considering the potential implications of the different likely outcomes for national policymaking and European affairs. Although populists have a public mood of discontent on their side, mainstream politicians might be able to buy themselves some time, not least because Europeans seem currently hesitant about voting anti-establishment parties into office and risk adding to the geo-political and economic uncertainties prompted by the new US administration and the UK’s decision to leave the Union. However, without foresight and a persuasive narrative on why European integration continues to be a ‘win-win’ exercise for the member states and their citizens, mainstream politicians are also recklessly flirting with potential disaster looming in the future

Current training on the basics of robotic surgery in the Netherlands: Time for a multidisciplinary approach?

Introduction: The following research questions were answered: (1) What are the training pathways followed by the current robot professionals? (2) Are there any differences between the surgical specialties in robot training and robot use? (3) What is their opinion about multidisciplinary basic skills training? Methods: An online questionnaire was sent to 91 robot professionals in The Netherlands. The questionnaire contained 21 multiple-choice questions focusing on demographics, received robot training, and their opinion on basic skills training in robotic surgery. Results: The response rate was 62 % (n = 56): 13 general surgeons, 16 gynecologists, and 27 urologists. The urologists performed significantly more robotic procedures than surgeons and gynecologists. The kind of training of all professionals varied from a training program by Intuitive Surgical, master-apprenticeship with or without duo console, fellowship, and self-designed training programs. The training did neither differ significantly among the different specialties nor the year of starting robotic surgery. Majority of respondents favor an obliged training program including an examination for the basics of robot skills training. Conclusion: Training of the current robot professionals is mostly dependent on local circumstances and the manufacturer of the robot system. Training is independent of the year of start with robotic surgery and speciality. To guarantee the quality of future training of residents and fellows in robot-assisted surgery, clear training goals should be formulated and implemented. Since this study shows that current training of different specialities does not differ, training in robotic surgery could be started by a multidisciplinary basic skills training and assessment

Family group conferencing—its added value in mental health care

Worldwide, there is a growing emphasis on reducing coercion and involving social networks in the care of mental health clients. Nurses should encourage their clients to regain control over their lives, preferably with less coercion and with help from their social network. During four years, a Dutch evaluation study was deployed to determine the applicability of mobilising help from social networks of people with psychiatric problems. Specifically the potential of Family Group Conferencing was examined. In this discursive article the question, ‘what Family Group Conferencing adds to the existing methods that aim to reduce coercion in mental health care and promote inclusion’ is addressed