EU and International Governance

Abstract

Originally, it was the growth of EU political institutions that was largely responsible for the development of interest in multi-level government (Marks, 1992). In moving on to the consideration of supranational or international levels of governance, this chapter examines mainly the EU dimension of governance relevant to Northern Ireland, with some mention of other international agencies and actors involved in more limited governance arrangements. The influence of EU decision-making on Northern Ireland is analysed, including directly applicable decisions, requirements on the Assembly to pass legislative measures, other decisions with a major impact under the social charter, inclusion in EU programmes, EU funding and reporting requirements. An account is given of the significance of the EU special fund to promote peace and reconciliation. The nature and influence of participation by the Executive and Assembly in EU decision-making, formal meetings and EU representative committees is examined, and an assessment is made of whether this constitutes a clear hierarchical level of governance as well as the extent to which a range of statutory and non-statutory bodies engage in MLG 2 activities in an EU context.