ABSTRACT
Whilst air transport is characterized by supranational governance, reg-
ulatory regimes in telecommunications and electricity encompass two tiers.
The ground-rules established by European governance regimes are applied
by national regulatory authorities exercising a significant margin of indepen-
dence from Brussels. This chapter addresses the domestic level of regulation.
It begins by examining the institutional context of domestic regulation – the
matrix of constitutional rules and policy norms that shaped emergent reg-
ulatory regimes in the member states. It goes on to analyse the institutional design of national regulatory authorities, the allocation of powers and the
way those powers have been exercised. It seeks evidence of horizontal policy
transfer – member states adopting design or operating principles drawn
from counterparts elsewhere. Whilst the focus is on our case study countries
(Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden), the final section of the
chapter provides a broader perspective on regulatory regimes across the EU
25. The central purpose of the chapter is to see whether dual-level govern-
ance promotes the spread of a European regulatory model, or merely a patchwork of national models.
