Dynamics of EU Transport Safety Regulation in the European Policy Process: Differences and Similarities

Abstract

The European Community (EC) and subsequently, the European Union (EU), have been central to an impressive development of regulation at the European level. In this ‘regulatory age’ (Majone 1994), product safety has become one of the first issues to be dealt with, in order to overcome barriers to trade, and should be regarded as a first step to be taken in order to integrate European markets. Transport industries have experienced distinct levels, forms and timing of EU safety regulation. While the automotive industry has undergone a standardisation process since the 1970s, such questions were only addressed in the context of railways in the 2000s. Thus, it is interesting to question and analyse the various interplays of actors and/or events which have characterised the European policy process in each transport sector. In addition, a trans-sectoral comparison will help in explaining such differences and their impact on the validity of traditional EU decision-making theories, such as that developed by Héritier in 1996.