The politicization of ex post policy evaluation in the EU

Smismans, Stijn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6072-7389 2017. The politicization of ex post policy evaluation in the EU. European Journal of Law Reform 19 (1-2) , pp. 74-96. 10.5553/EJLR/138723702017019102005

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Abstract

The European Commission’s 2015 Better Regulation package has placed ex post evaluation at the centre of European governance. This strengthens a trend of gradual politicization of evaluation in European policymaking. This article analyses how the European Commission’s approach to ex post policy evaluation has changed over the last decade. It shows how evaluation has developed from a rather technical process to a more politicized process, which is clearly linked to political priority setting, subject to centralized control, and involving a wider set of actors. At the same time, it argues that the Commission avoids a profound debate on the merits and objectives of the process of evaluation itself and concludes on the merits and risks of evaluation at times of rising populism.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Law
Uncontrolled Keywords:	policy evaluation, Better Regulation, participation, REFIT, politicization
Publisher:	Eleven International Publishing
ISSN:	1387-2370
Funders:	European Research Council
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 May 2017
Date of Acceptance:	4 May 2017
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2022 17:55
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/100772

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