The added value of transgovernmental networks in the EU regulatory space: the case of IMPEL

EU Transgovernmental networks are often treated as second or even third best solutions to regulatory problems as compared to other EU regulatory bodies such as EU decentralised agencies. This paper counter-argues that networks may be leading choices for the EU supranational authority in policies which, to be implemented, require coordination, street level expertise and high operational capacities. Indeed, the European Commission may be capable of orchestrating national regulators in the pursuit of EU goals even through informal networks and bring about higher supranationalisation of the EU regulatory space. This argument is supported by an in depth case study about the Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of EU Law (IMPEL), a network of national environmental authorities formally independent from EU institutions, but increasingly active in coordinating the implementation of EU environmental policy. Through semi-structured interviews and document analysis the study investigates the historical development of the IMPEL network by focusing on the changing relationships between the network and the European Commission. Findings provide empirical evidence of how IMPEL progressively gained formal autonomy from its supranational counterpart on the one hand, and increasingly pursued broader and broader EU goals on the other. The European Commission emerges as an actual orchestrator which has managed to maintain its economic and political control over the network in spite of their formal separation. Under the Commission’s guidance, member states environmental authorities have increasingly engaged in IMPEL initiatives by pooling their resources and expertise in the pursuit of EU goals. In this context, IMPEL is recognised as an important added value to the implementation of EU environmental policy, as it provides more political and functional advantages than a EU-level agency.