Mémoire en science politique[BR]- Travail écrit : "Exploring Convergence of Political Agendas : The European Commission and the European Council."[BR]- Séminaire d'accompagnement à l'écriture

Abstract

Agenda-setting in the European Union represents a fruitful area of study, as it allows to detect the underlying dynamics governing this peculiar political system. This thesis addresses the dimension of institutional agenda-setting, highlighting the interplay that takes place around the initiation of legislative proposals in the EU. Although the European Commission is granted a formal monopoly of power in this respect, its activity is in fact limited and influenced by the other institutions. Among these, the European Council plays a central role, being responsible for the high political direction of the integration process. The research proposed herein aims at investigating the interaction between the agendas of these two bodies. It does so by leveraging the concept of agenda convergence as tool of enquiry into the influence that the European Council exercises on the European Commission. Its results show that the overall convergence between the two agendas is definitely high, yet decreases if the President of the Commission adopts a strong leadership style vis-à-vis Member States. As regards single policy areas, convergence appears to be higher in sectors that have been under EU competence since a little time, while trends are irregular as for older competences, suggesting the intervention of third factors. This thesis is meant to pave the way for further research on this subject, so as to contribute from an agenda-setting perspective to the debate on the nature of the institutional system of the Union.