L'autorité administrative dans l'Union européenne

The notion of 'Administrative Authority' has several dimensions in EU law. From a functional perspective, administrative authority may be exercised according to three patterns: indirect administration by member states' governmental institutions - the typical Community pattern - direct administration by the EU institutions or co-administration which implies some coordination between both types of institutions. In an organic perspective, it can be allocated to the European Commission, EC executive agencies, EC regulatory agencies, and member state or sub-state governmental agencies. A number of legal principles apply to the exercise of EU administrative authority, e.g. the principles of good administration, or representative and participative democracy, of administrative cooperation as well as general principles of European administrative law - for instance proportionality, legitimate expectations etc. In the perspective of accountability, judicial review by EC and national courts is prominent, but comes only after reciprocal monitoring of EU and national institutions, parliamentary control, and the prominent role of the European Ombudsman.