ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the implementation of European Union (EU) policies from an empirical and theoretical perspective. It discusses the institutional, political and empirical background with regard to the implementation of EU policies. The chapter also focuses on different analytical perspectives on the implementation process and their implications for measuring implementation effectiveness. It concentrates on the central theoretical factors affecting implementation effectiveness and their empirical illustration. The deficient policy designs are not only affected by the degree of distributional conflicts characterizing a certain policy discussion. It also varies with the number of actors that are involved in the decision-making process. The formal transformation and practical application of Community law reveals no clear pattern of member states typically implementing EU policies either effectively or ineffectively. The Commission as the 'guardian of the treaties' is responsible for controlling the transposition and application of Community law in the member states.
