Situating EU Agencies in the Political-Administrative Space

Over the past couple of decades a considerable number of EU agencies have been established. Research has so far shown that they have become more than mere facilitators of transnational regulatory networks and arenas for the exchange of information on 'best practice'. Task expansion has taken place, e.g. by taking up (quasi-) regulatory tasks. Although research also indicates that EU agencies cannot be portrayed entirely as agents of the member states, the jury is still out as regards exactly where in the political-administrative landscape such agencies might be situated: to what extent are they actually under the control of the member states, the Council, the European Parliament or the Commission? Or, are they rather components within endogenously driven epistemic, transnational networks of regulators? This paper sheds light on so far undocumented relationships between EU agencies and the Commission as well as contributes to explaining such a development. Drawing on novel data sources we show how EU agencies might have become parts of Commission departments' portfolios, indicating centralization of EU executive power.