Building the Eurocracy: The Politics of EU Agencies and Networks.” Paper Prepared for the Biennial European Union Studies Association Convention

This paper explores both the politics behind and the policy impacts of the design of EU regulatory institutions. The EU has established an extensive ‘Eurocracy ’ outside of the Commission hierarchy, including over two dozen European agencies and a number of networks of national regulatory authorities (NRAs).Building on research on the politics of EU level agencies and regulatory networks, the paper will first attempt to explain the politics of institutional choice: why do EU policy-makers create agencies in some policy-areas, while opting for looser regulatory networks in others. Second, the paper will assess the impact of these institutional choices: can EU regulatory networks deliver the cooperation and harmonization of regulatory practices that their advocates promise