During the last decades, the European Union has been stepping up its efforts to improve the effectiveness of EU law enforcement, not least by setting up enforcement networks in key areas of the Internal Market. In her talk, Antonina Bakardjieva Engelbrekt will introduce the general trend towards network governance in the EU and highlight some of its main challenges in the context of enforcement.
During the last decades the European Union has been stepping up its efforts to improve the effectiveness of EU law enforcement, not least as part of its ambition to complete the Single European Market. One method that has gained particular traction is the setting up of enforcement networks, typically composed of representatives of Member States public authorities and other bodies, with the active involvement of the Commission. Such networks now exist in core areas of the Internal Market, such as competition, consumer and – albeit less prominently - IP law. Enforcement networks are expected to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of decentralised enforcement, among others through exchange of best practices, developing common enforcement standards and facilitating coordinated cross-border enforcement actions. However, while the concept of ‘network’ presumes equivalence of interconnected units, in the regulatory areas mentioned above, there is considerable diversity in institutional design and governance approaches across the EU Member States. In her talk, Antonina Bakardjieva Engelbrekt will introduce the trend towards network governance and highlight some of its main challenges in the context of enforcement. More specifically, she will discuss the impact of institutional diversity on the effectiveness of enforcement networks and conversely, the impact of network governance on national institutional autonomy. The research is part of a project that has been funded by the Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg foundation.
Antonina Bakardjieva Engelbrekt is Professor of European Law at Stockholm University and Chair of the Swedish Network for European Legal Studies. Her research is mainly within the area of European economic law and governance with a focus on European and comparative market, consumer and intellectual property law. The research interest is directed towards processes of Europeanisation and globalisation and their influence on national law and institutions. Antonina was Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg Professor of Legal Science (2015-2018).
The seminar is a digital seminar. Zoom-link will be sent upon registration.
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Jaan Paju
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