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Not all Treaties are Created Equal: The Effects of Treaty Changes on Legislative Efficiency in the EU

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  • Jørgen Bølstad
  • James P. Cross

Abstract

One of the key motives behind recent reforms of the EU's legislative process has been to increase efficiency. This study examines whether the Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon treaties have successfully increased the speed with which the EU creates new laws. An interrupted time series approach is utilized to detect the total effects of treaty change on the decision‐making process. This study thus complements existing research on the effects of decision‐making rules, by employing a design more robust to the challenge of endogeneity. The findings suggest that the Amsterdam treaty was very successful at increasing legislative efficiency. In contrast, the Nice treaty does not appear to have had a notable impact, and, more interestingly, neither does the Lisbon treaty.

Suggested Citation

  • Jørgen Bølstad & James P. Cross, 2016. "Not all Treaties are Created Equal: The Effects of Treaty Changes on Legislative Efficiency in the EU," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 793-808, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:54:y:2016:i:4:p:793-808
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.12349
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Philippe van Gruisen, 2019. "The Trio Presidency and the Efficiency of Council Decision‐Making: An Empirical Study," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 692-709, July.
    2. James P Cross & Henrik Hermansson, 2017. "Legislative amendments and informal politics in the European Union: A text reuse approach," European Union Politics, , vol. 18(4), pages 581-602, December.
    3. Steffen Hurka & Maximilian Haag, 2020. "Policy complexity and legislative duration in the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 21(1), pages 87-108, March.
    4. James P Cross & AustÄ— VaznonytÄ—, 2020. "Can we do what we say we will do? Issue salience, government effectiveness, and the legislative efficiency of Council Presidencies," European Union Politics, , vol. 21(4), pages 657-679, December.
    5. Serra Boranbay-Akan & Thomas König & Moritz Osnabrügge, 2017. "The imperfect agenda-setter: Why do legislative proposals fail in the EU decision-making process?," European Union Politics, , vol. 18(2), pages 168-187, June.

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