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This article explores continuity and change in Germany’s policy towards economic and monetary integration, comparing its approach to the Eurozone crisis with its response to the economic challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. As the largest EU member state with significant macroeconomic relevance for the whole of the Eurozone, Germany presents a critical case during both episodes. The article adopts an historical institutionalist approach to exploring policy evolution, identifying the key interests and ideas that have driven German policy. The analysis is based on the ‘failing forward’ argument, applied to German domestic politics. German policy has evolved through an incremental layering process that both facilitated and constrained the architecture of the Eurozone. The Franco-German proposal for a reconstruction fund in May 2020 seemed to conflict with a long-standing German opposition to mutualising debt. The article argues that it in fact represented a further stage in the process (layering and conversion) rather than a critical juncture or paradigm change in policy. However, the resultant Recovery and Resilience Facility may prove to be another incomplete policy response due to the deepening consequences of the pandemic and the interventions of Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court.

The Federal Republic of Germany’s position in the European Community had been described as one of interdependence, penetration and integration. Of the three terms this research addresses itself most directly to penetration: to the links between the German political system and policy-making at the Community level. These links operated in two directions. Thus membership for the European Community (EC) imposed certain constraints on German domestic policy-making. Although this research, first published in 1986, concentrates on the structural inter-relationship between the German political system and EC decisions, its main focus of attention is the articulation of German ‘interests’ in the EC policy process. This book will be of interest to students of politics and history. Table of Contents; List of Figures and Tables; Abbreviations; Preface; 1. West German Domestic Political Structures and European Community Policy-Making; Part 1: The Political Organisations Involved ; 2. The Organisation of EC Policy-Making in the Federal Government 3. German Interest Groups in EC Policy-Making 4. Political Parties and German EC Policy-Making 5. The Role of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat in EC Policy-Making 6. Subnational Government in EC Policy-Making; Part 2: Case Studies ; 7. The European Community’s Proposal to Harmonise Member States’ Brewing Regulations 8. The Mansholt Plan for the Reform of EC Agricultural Structures 9. Conclusions; Postscript; Bibliography; Appendix I: Interviews

What has been the impact of the EU on UK central government? This book explores the ‘Europeanisation’ of the work of civil servants and ministers and how they engage with the EU. Drawing on fresh empirical evidence, the volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of the spreading impact of European integration across government. The study is placed in the context of political divisions over the EU but outlines the often neglected way in which the EU has transformed the business of government. It charts the process from the Macmillan government’s 1961 application to join the European Communities through to the end of Blair’s premiership. The book examines the character and timing of responses across government, covering the core government departments and also those more recently affected, such as the Ministry of Defence. The authors argue that central government has organized itself efficiently to deal with the demands of EU membership despite the often controversial party political divisions over Europe. However, in placing their findings in comparative context they conclude that the effectiveness of UK governments in the EU has been less striking.

What has been the impact of the EU on UK central government? This book explores the ‘Europeanisation’ of the work of civil servants and ministers and how they engage with the EU. Drawing on fresh empirical evidence, the volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of the spreading impact of European integration across government. The study is placed in the context of political divisions over the EU but outlines the often neglected way in which the EU has transformed the business of government. It charts the process from the Macmillan government’s 1961 application to join the European Communities through to the end of Blair’s premiership. The book examines the character and timing of responses across government, covering the core government departments and also those more recently affected, such as the Ministry of Defence. The authors argue that central government has organized itself efficiently to deal with the demands of EU membership despite the often controversial party political divisions over Europe. However, in placing their findings in comparative context they conclude that the effectiveness of UK governments in the EU has been less striking.

Germany has been at the heart of European integration since Chancellor Adenauer's commitment to \"Westbindung\" in the early 1950s. In the 2010s it has become the European Union's (EU) indispensable power. Indispensability has placed responsibilities upon the federal government but has also brought increased controversy in relation to Germany's role in the EU: both internationally and domestically. This contribution seeks to take stock of Germany's role in the EU during an era of increased European and global uncertainty. Is it credible to regard Germany as the EU's hegemon in the 2010s? Further, what are the effects of the more politicised nature of European policy in domestic politics on Germany playing such a role?

The analysis of European integration has tended to use a toolkit drawn from international relations. But since the revival of integration in the mid-1980s, the governance of the European Community and European Union has increasingly come to resemble that of a multi-tiered state. Accordingly, this article analyzes the governance of the European Union from a comparative public policy perspective. Using new or historical institutionalism, three levels are considered. In the first part, attention is focused on the EU's institutions and the available instruments of governance. The second part examines the analysis of governance at the policy-specific or sub-system level, and puts forward an approach based on governance regimes. The final part considers the institutional roots of the persistent, regulatory character of governance in the European Union.

Germany has traditionally played a key role in promoting European Union solutions to domestic policy problems. In doing so it gained a reputation as a 'tamed power' (Katzenstein). This article reviews Germany's diplomacy two decades after unification. It explores the 'tamed power' hypothesis with reference to three policy areas: constitutional reform in the EU; Justice and Home Affairs policy; and an issue that has made German European policy very salient of late, the management of the Eurozone. The article argues that Germany has become a much less inclusive actor in European policy, pursuing policy solutions through ' pioneer groups' where these offer greater promise than the EU itself and becoming increasingly attentive to domestic political constraints. The article argues that Germany has become a normalized power, with significant implications for the EU.

Although the concept of policy transfer attracts growing attention in political science, its application to the European Union remains underdeveloped. This article offers a comprehensive conceptual account of EU policy transfer. It starts from the institutionalist premise that transfer processes and outcomes will vary between differently constituted governance regimes. Three forms of EU governance are identified; hierarchy, negotiation and ‘facilitated unilateralism’. The article develops hypotheses about the linkages between institutional variables and transfer outcomes, assessed on a scale from emulation to influence. Hypotheses are set against empirical evidence drawn from a variety of policy areas. We find evidence to support the general hypothesis that stronger forms of policy transfer occur in more highly institutionalized governance regimes. The evidence also points to micro-institutional variables shaping transfer outcomes: the powers accruing to supra-national institutions; decision rules; and the density of exchange between national actors.

What has been the impact of the EU on UK central government? This book explores the 'Europeanisation' of the work of civil servants and ministers and how they engage with the EU. Drawing on fresh empirical evidence, the volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of the spreading impact of European integration across government. The study is placed in the context of political divisions over the EU but outlines the often neglected way in which the EU has transformed the business of government. It charts the process from the Macmillan government's 1961 application to join the European Communities through to the end of Blair's premiership. The book examines the character and timing of responses across government, covering the core government departments and also those more recently affected, such as the Ministry of Defence. The authors argue that central government has organized itself efficiently to deal with the demands of EU membership despite the often controversial party political divisions over Europe. However, in placing their findings in comparative context they conclude that the effectiveness of UK governments in the EU has been less striking.

The Federal Republic of Germany's position in the European Community had been described as one of interdependence, penetration and integration. Of the three terms this research addresses itself most directly to penetration: to the links between the German political system and policy-making at the Community level. These links operated in two directions. Thus membership for the European Community (EC) imposed certain constraints on German domestic policy-making. Although this research, first published in 1986, concentrates on the structural inter-relationship between the German political system and EC decisions, its main focus of attention is the articulation of German 'interests' in the EC policy process. This book will be of interest to students of politics and history.