“Institutions Matter: An Institutional Perspective on Decision-Making Configurations in the EU: The Case of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive”

Bursens, Peter. (1999) “Institutions Matter: An Institutional Perspective on Decision-Making Configurations in the EU: The Case of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive” . In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 1999 (6th), June 2-5, 1999, pages 30, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Abstract

This paper examines the preferences and the strategies (and the resulting interaction patterns and organisation structures) of actors that participate in regulative decision-making within the first pillar of the EU. Following [a] distinction made between integration and policy-making, answers will be sought by using Comparative Politics approaches. The main hypothesis is that preferences and strategies of both private and public actors are to a large extent shaped by the institutional context they operate in. To test this hypothesis, a two-step research strategy was set up. First of all, this paper examines whether, and if so which, institutional variables are relevant to explain decision-making patterns. Secondly, and this will be the main part, it explores how institutional variables influence preferences and strategies of participating political actors. The latter will be illustrated by the Packaging and Packaging Waste-Directive. The paper ends with the presentation of a neo-institutionalist model which can help to understand preferences and strategies during decision-making in general.