Structural Funding Policy in the EU

Structural Funding Policy in the EU

The central aim of this paper is to examine European Union policy in terms of its agenda setting characteristics. To do this, a theory of punctuated equilibrium is explored, based on the emergence and recession of policy issues from the transnational policy agenda. The primary goal of this paper is to define the current equilibrium and how it is punctuated. The secondary goal is to examine what forces drive the punctuated equilibrium, so that we might predict punctuation in the future. To this end, I hope to demonstrate the utility of the theory by studying structural funding (SF) policy within the European Union.

“Supranational integration has been one of the most distinctive

features of the politics of Western Europe since the end of

the Second World War. Indeed, during these years, few

other policy issues arising initially in the sphere of foreign

affairs have impinged so deeply upon the domestic domain

of the countries concerned and have prompted such wide-ranging

changes in the political and economic life of Europe.”

Introduction

The twenty-first century is bringing with it an entirely different perspective on transnational integration. The transformation of Western Europe into a transnational body marks victories of enlargement, creation of a European Community, passage of a line of treaties, and adoption of economic and social policies. The consequences, in terms of costs and benefits, of joining the European Union can be clearly evidenced by the passage of an onslaught of economic policies such as those included in the Treaty on European Union, the Single European Act, the Growth and Stability Pact, and others.

Examining policy at the transnational level gives s...

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