Abstract
Ahrens unpacks the black box of negotiating European Commission communications, its formal and informal internal policy-making processes and looks at four different actor constellations: (1) the internal working procedures of the European Commission; (2) its outreach to other supranational institutions; (3) inter-institutional groups of representatives of the European Commission and member states and (4) civil society in a broad sense. By focusing on the ‘Roadmap for equality between women and men 2006–2010’, Ahrens unfolds how the internal Commission struggles among Directorate Generals (DGs) shape policies. By analysing the different patterns in the formation of positions, Ahrens illuminates the generation of soft law as a vertical (within institutions) and horizontal (between institutions) polity process.
Everyone was interested in developing a successful Roadmap
(Interview with MEP)
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Key Documents Documentary Research
European Commission. 2006. Impact Assessment Guidelines. Brussels, SEC(2005) 791.
European Communities. 2007. The PROGRESS programme and the European Social Fund 2007-2013. Luxembourg 2007.
European Women’s Lobby: Gender Equality Road Map for the European Community 2006–2010. Brüssel 2005.
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Ahrens, P. (2018). Opening the Black Box: The Adoption of the Roadmap over Time. In: Actors, Institutions, and the Making of EU Gender Equality Programs . Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57060-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57060-4_2
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