Understanding the European Public Administration

For the future of EU administrative law, a key issue to be addressed in this context is the potential and arguably the substantial need for simplification also helped by digitalization and the study of best practice cases. EU administrative law is central for defining procedures for cooperation between administrations as well as procedures for supervision and review thereof.The project “UNDERSTANDING THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: NEW CHALLENGES” ‘s main objective is to introduce a new training programme relevant for graduates, experts and civil society.

Debates in academia and practice on the feasibility, use and content of a codification of EU administrative procedures are intensifying since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, driven by the new provision of art. 298 TFEU, which could be the basis for such a codification in the form of a EU regulation. Not only the issue of codification of EU administrative procedures has gained important momentum with the EU Parliament legislative initiative resolution of 15 January 2013, but also recently the JURI Commission of the EU Parliament has presented a draft Regulation on the Administrative Procedure of the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, drawn up by the Working Group on Administrative Law (chaired by MEP Heidi Hautala).

The main goal of the proposal is to ensure and foster the participation of universities in the efforts already undertaken for the structuration and consolidation of a European research area in the field of administrative law. Special focus will be on administrative procedural law, its codification, and the improvement of the organizational models through the digitalization. Secondly, the course aims therefore to identify the best practices to increase the cooperation of citizens and business in decision making and, at the same time, increase the efficiency of the administrative action.