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I. The European Commission Impact Assessment ( EC-IA)

EC-IA as EPI instrument ? The Integrated Impact Assessment procedure of the EC as environment integration tool within European actions and decisions ?. I. The European Commission Impact Assessment ( EC-IA). The research object : EC-IA. IA: ex ante evaluation of impact at policy level

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I. The European Commission Impact Assessment ( EC-IA)

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  1. EC-IA as EPI instrument ?The Integrated Impact Assessmentprocedure of the EC as environmentintegrationtoolwithinEuropean actions and decisions?

  2. I. The European Commission Impact Assessment (EC-IA)

  3. The researchobject: EC-IA • IA: ex ante evaluation of impact at policy level • Many (+/-) sectorial IA systems: RIA, EIA, SEA, HIA, Soc. IA, … •  Dvlpmt: S(I)A and IIA • 2002: integrated impact assessment system • Very ambitious system  interest/« hopes »

  4. The EC objectives • “The objectives of the new impact assessment process are • to improve the quality of Commission proposals, • to ensure an analysis of the economic, environmental and social impacts of a proposal and • to improve and simplify the regulatory environment.” (EC, 2002, p.6 – Guidelines)

  5. Two/three genealogical lines: Since 2002: EC-IA (First implementation in 2003, revised in 2005 and 2009) • Better Regulation agenda • (1986: BIA) • 2001: White paper on European Governance • 2002: Better regulation act •  focus on (R)IA • SD agenda • 1997: Envi in the EC treaty • 1998: Cardiff process • 2001: European SD strategy  dev. of SIA • Lisbon Strategy • 2005: mid-term evaluation  focus on growth and jobs

  6. Procedure details • Analysis of what? • Since 2009: CLWP+… • Multiple options • Scope of the analysis: • Proportionalityprinciple: depthproportional to potential impacts • Some important aspects: • DG lead in charge of IA • Inter service working group coordination • Impact AssessmentBoard  « external » control

  7. Whatis the « place » and « weight » of « environmentalconsiderations » within the EC-IA: state of the art II. EC-IA and EPILiteraturereview: phase I

  8. Meta-evaluations Table 1 : EC-IA meta-evaluations

  9. 2002-2005 : Exploratory studies and first evaluations based on initial guidelines • Negative meta-evaluations but latent optimism : • Undefined policy objectives • Lack of coherence • Few (real) options studied  justification • Problem of information diffusion • « Unbalance » between the 3 pilars

  10. 2005-2008 : Meta-evaluations following the first guidelines revision • Environmental expertise? • Bias towards regular experts of the DG’s • Lack of representativity of the consultations • Bias NGO’s (vs industrial and business lobby’s) • No environmental stakeholders in 2/3 of IA • Unbalance btw the pilars w/r to impact identification • Getting worse after 2005 guidelines

  11. (TEP, 2007, p.82)

  12. (ECA, 2010, p.37)

  13. Quantification/ monetisation (ECA, 2010, p.38)

  14. III. Literaturereview: phase II

  15. Phase 1 = technical, evidence-basedapproach • EC-IA as « knowledgetool » (Bäckund, 2009), as rationalisingdecision-support tool(Popelier et Verlinden 2009) • Phase 2 = EC-IA as: • « boundarywork » between science and policy(Tuinstra 2007) • Meta-instrument withpoliticaleffects(Radaelli et Meuwese 2010:139) • coordination tool of EU policies(Adelle, Hertin, et Jordan 2006) • environmentalmainstreamingtool(Pollack et Hafner-Burton 2010) • legitimationtool(Bäcklund 2009)

  16. (Our graphic; based on Torriti, 2010)

  17. As a political tool, does EC-IA open the policy-making process and empower stakeholders supporting environmental agendas (environmental NGO’s, DG Environment, EEA, …)? • As conceptual tool, what is the impact of the EC-IA procedure on the definition of the “environment” within European policy-making? E.g. effects of quantification/monetisation?

  18. Thankyou for your attention Emilie Mutombo ejempaka@ulb.ac.be Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) IGEAT - Institute for Environmental Management and Land Use Planning CEDD - Centre for Studies on Sustainable Development http://igeat.ulb.ac.be

  19. A missing dimension: Participation • From information to participation • EC-IA as legitimation tool based on • « transparency washing » Or • Effective openness of the decision-making process

  20. 1c°] European Commission guidelines approach i.e. evidence-based, participative, linear approach • EC-IA as participative knowledge tool • 0°] the zero/realist (?) approach • EC-IA as evidence-based but merely tick the box bureaucratic tool turning primarily into a legitimation tool through transparency efforts

  21. 1a°] Evidence-based approach: • EC-IA as knowledge tool for direct decision support • 1b°] Science-policy interface approach: • EC-IA as “boundary work” or learning tool (oriented towards (indirect) decision-support) • 2a°] “instrument” approach • EC-IA as instrument with political (un)intended effects on power relations

  22. Our research approaches • 2b°] EC-IA as participative political tool: an approach studying the political effects of a potential redistribution of power-relations within an “open” decision-making process. • 2c°] EC-IA as conceptual political tool: an approach which looks at the political effect on the way environment is conceptualized within European decisions.

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