a new framework for eu strongadministrationstrong the financial.pdf

A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR EU ADMINISTRATION: THE FINANCIAL REGULATION 2002 PAUL CRAIG* I INTRODUCTION This Article, a discussion of the administration of the European Union budget, in- cluding direct and shared management, and of the recently enacted new Financial Regulation, has three related objectives, which will be explored in the course of the ensuing analysis. The first is to point to the increasing constitutionalization of Com- munity administration. The term constitutionalization has a plethora of meanings. Its use here signifies, in formal terms, that the principles governing European Community (“Community”) administration have now been enshrined in a norm, the new Financial Regulation, which is of constitutional importance. The term constitutionalization sig- nifies, in substantive terms, the emergence of overarching principles that frame the en- tirety of Community administration. The second is to convey an understanding of Community administration. Much has been written on topics such as comitology. There is, however, a paucity of mate- rial on the different ways in which the Community administers its policies. The di- vide between direct and shared administration is imperfectly understood. This is es- pecially important given the numerous legislative and non-legislative initiatives that are fundamentally reshaping this terrain. The third objective is to examine the role of law in Community administration. Judicial review is but part of this story. It is not the whole story, and it is certainly not even the first chapter in what is a much richer and more interesting tale. It will be seen that law, b