Suchergebnisse

Among EU Member States, there are basically two models of government. The standard European model, mainly developed in Prussia and France at the beginning of the nineteenth-century, has been successfully imitated to a very large extent in combination with the adoption of a parliamentary regime. The British civil service adopted the same type of hierarchical organisation as it was particularly suitable to the Westminster model of government responsibility. Opposed to this standard European model, the Swedish model has long been seen as a survival of Ancien Regime administrations. In the last part of the twentieth-century, several institutions have been directly or indirectly imported from Sweden to other countries, without taking account of the environment which made them successful in their country of origin. Some of these institutions can be seen as a way to modernisation although they were established two centuries ago. Both models feature a small number of elements, which are closely interlinked and make the system work. They are based on entirely different systems of accountability. This article presents and compares those two models in order to allow a better understanding of recent reforms and their prospects of success or failure. (Parliamentary Affairs / FUB)

The True Nature of European Administration.
Comparative analysis facilitates an understanding of the differences between European administration and that of the Member States. The basis of the System is founded upon the classical European model, rather than the purely French model. The homogeneity of the structures is opposed by the heterogeneity of administrative culture. A static number of personnel in the wake of successive enlargements and the development of competencies helps explain the excessive use of experts and delegation. Comparison with the Swedish model, which is itself different from the classical European model, reveals further deficiencies and suggests that the construction of a model capable of taking into account the specificity of European administration should be recommended.