Domestic coordination of EU polcy-making : the case of social inclusion policy

Abstract

Since joining the European Union in 2004 Malta has embarked on a learning path which can present obstacles in order to adopt and adapt to the Acquis Communautaire.1 One of the catalysts of this change is the Maltese public administration, which is adjusting and making way to new administrative and legislative procedures brought forward by the accession. Research on the coordination of EU policy-making in new member states is still juvenile, however, there are studies on the coordination of EU policy-making in the older member states (for e.g. Kassim et al., 2000) and on candidate countries from Central and Eastern Europe (Gwiadza, 2002). Taking into consideration the Maltese context, preliminary studies on how the EU Membership has impacted various areas have been conducted. For example, Bugeja (2006) and Cassar (2008) focussed on the national coordination of EU policy-making and its effectiveness from a general perspective, whereas, Harwood’s (2014) focussed on the Europeanization of the Maltese national administration and its changes as a Mediterranean Member State. In 2009, the European Documentation and Research Centre (EDRC), within the University of Malta, compiled a report entitled ‘Malta in the European Union: Five Years On and Looking to the Future’, which addressed various subject areas such as economic and industrial relations policy; public administration and legal issues; values, society and civil society; and Malta’s foreign policy. Furthermore, Vassallo (2015) explored the impact of the European Union on domestic civil society’s organizations and their gradual transformation at differing speeds and logics of Europeanization. This study complements other local research studies which were carried out on the national coordination of EU policy-making; with the aim of making a thorough investigation on social inclusion policy and how Europeanization is moulding Malta’s coordinating mechanisms and structures in this field.