Contenu du sommaire

EU SOFT LAW IN AGENDA SETTING: THE USE OF EUROPEAN INSTRUMENTS IN THE MAKING OF EHEALTH POLICIES IN FRANCE AND IN THE UNITED KINGDOMHealthcare is still today considered as a key competence of European Union member states. To circumvent this issue of jurisdiction, the European Union (EU) has produced legally non-binding measures (soft law) in the eHealth area, a specific aspect of the organization of healthcare, in order to standardize the sector at the European level. The aim of this paper is to explore the capacity of these EU instruments to influence domestic agenda-setting processes, even in an area where the EU does not have binding authority. To do so, we chose to compare France and the United Kingdom, two countries in which eHealth technologies have been adopted although differences are visible in the agenda-setting phase of their eHealth policies. Domestic actors, their interests, strategies and their use of European instruments will be at the core of our analysis.

GOVERNING THROUGH CONDITIONALITY OR FLEXIBILITY? THE REFORM OF EUROPEAN UNION COHESION POLICY (2014-2020)The eurozone crisis greatly reshaped the EU's economic governance in order to strengthen the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). This article shows how these ideas, originally conceived to strengthen economic governance, also shaped the EU's Cohesion policy and affected the adoption of Regulation 1303/2013 on Structural and Investment Funds (ESI funds). By examining the power relations between the Parliament, the Commission and the Council, the article demonstrates how ideas like conditionality dominated the decision-making process between 2010 and 2013 and how after 2013 the idea of the strict enforcement of the rules becomes more divisive, opposing those in favor of sanctions and those favoring increased flexibility.

CONDITIONS FOR PUTTING SERVICE USERS TO WORK: THE CASE OF WASTE MANAGEMENTSince the 1980's, public services have undergone major changes, leading to an individualization of service delivery combined with increased participation by users. Such major transformations are discursively justified as a mean to more closely serve heterogeneous interests and situations. The case of incentive fee system for household waste management in the Grand-Besançon metropolitan area (France) highlights a complex transformation process that reshapes both public service (reorganization and jobs evolution) and its users. Far from the official rhetoric of modernization and economic incitation, the paper shows the predominance of managerial framing and domination, unevenly impacting users.

PATHS OF RIGHTS. ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE WAY PEOPLE ACCES SOCIAL RIGHTS IN A RURAL AREAStarting from research on the reform of the Welfare State, and notably the modernization of public reception areas, this article analyses its effect on the way people access social rights and in particular the social minima. The observation of administrative practice reveals that applicants follow “paths to rights” comprising several obstacles arising from the spatial dimension of administrative services. Effectively, the modes of public reception lead to norms of administrative practice towards individuals. In order to obtain their rights, they have to conform by developing the required skills. This research shows that the modernization of administrations, and especially the dematerialization of procedures to be followed in order to claim those rights, contributes to the construction of administrative territories and lays out unequal “paths to rights”. Access to social minima is more complex for those in more precarious situations.