EU governance and policy transfer

This chapter sets out an analytical framework with which to approach the

study of EU policy transfer. The first part of the chapter outlines the var-

iants of policy transfer found in the mainstream public policy literature, and

suggests how we might ‘unpack’ transfer process and outcomes for the

purposes of analysis. We then go on to conceptualize European Union policy

transfer, beginning from the premise that institutions matter and that

transfer processes will reflect the institutional settings in which they take

place. The EU’s multifaceted system of governance, it is argued, can be expected to generate multiple forms of policy transfer. We identify three

dimensions of transfer. ‘Uploading’ occurs when a policy model drawn from

one or more member states is incorporated in EU policy. ‘Downloading’

takes place when EU rules are applied in the member states – either directly

by supranational institutions or indirectly by national authorities acting in

accordance with EU rules (Bo¨rzel 2002). ‘Horizontal’ transfer takes the

form of reciprocal policy learning between member states.