EU agencies and the rise of a mixed administration in the EU multi-jurisdictional setting: facing the challenges of the rule of law

Union agencies have come to epitomise not only the model of functional integration within the Union’s system of mixed administration, but also the challenges which this poses for the rule of law. While set up by Union law as Union bodies, they incorporate in their governance structures actors from national administrations. Endowed with legal personality and independence due to their scientific or technical expertise, some agencies are granted considerable power to engage in quasi-regulatory and administrative activities of a wide and varied range in their interaction with Union bodies, and also with national administrative bodies, which they may assist, monitor and even control in a shared administrative space. Actions of Union agencies therefore are often part of complex administrative proceedings, within which their responsibility is both legal and political. This chapter will discuss the challenges posed by Union agencies for the rule of law in terms of control, and in particular th...