This conference will bring together authors and commentators to discuss the implications of funding-based governance for the functioning and evolution of the EU.
How is funding shaping European integration? That is the central question of the book Governing through Funding in the EU (forthcoming, CUP), edited by Lilian Tsourdi and Marijn van der Sluis.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility demonstrated the transformative potential of EU funding during the pandemic and introduced a new method of advancing European policy objectives. In other domains, too, funding has become increasingly salient. Rule of law conditionality has emerged as a key tool for upholding EU values. In migration policy, financial instruments are central to cooperation with third countries. In climate policy, the EU budget plays a role in mainstreaming environmental objectives. Cohesion and the common agricultural policy have long relied on funding, but recent reforms highlight new challenges.
Governing through Funding in the EU brings together contributions that analyse these developments from legal (constitutional, institutional, and substantive) and public policy perspectives. A first set of chapters examines the foundations and constitutional implications of funding as a mode of governance. A second set focuses on the ways institutional actors, such as the European Council, the European Parliament and the Court of Auditors, steer policy implementation through funding. A final part of the volume explores sector-specific applications of funding-based governance in numerous policy areas: e.g. cohesion, common agricultural policy, environment.
During the workshop, a number of the volume contributors will present their chapters, with discussants offering critical reflections.
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