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SPP 507

Author: Stéphanie Novak
 
Description: This paper explores the effects of transparency rules adopted since the 1990s for the Council of the EU and the European Parliament. Four responses to transparency rules are possible: evade them (realist conventional wisdom), ignore them (organized-hypocrisy theory) or convert them to their own advantage. The implementation of the different transparency rules are examined through 67 semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The empirical study shows a relative failure of transparency rules, partly because the legislative actors enjoy a high degree of discretion in the enforcement of rules. However, the organized-hypocrisy theory and the realist conventional wisdom do not fully explain the failure of transparency because they underestimate the complexity of rule implementation. The actors do implement the rules but exploit their ambiguities to their own advantage.

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