Discordant harmonization: The enforcement of European Union policy by national labor inspectorates

One of the most important aspects of European integration is the harmonization of regulatory policy throughout the European Union. While the European Union (EU) passes hundreds of new regulations to accomplish this goal, the Member States themselves have sole authority to implement those regulations. The Commission initiates dozens of infringement cases against Member States for failure to implement EU policy. Member States' success at resolving these cases varies greatly. Some Member States resolve cases easily while other Member States fail to resolve cases before the European Court Justice intervenes. Past analyses of EU policy implementation have not fully explained the phenomenon.; This dissertation presents an institutional approach that focuses on administrative oversight mechanisms. I argue that the EU policy implementation depends on the maintenance of a chain of command from the Commission through the Member State governments to the administrative agencies. I show that oversight mechanisms that strengthen that chain of command by concentrating decision making authority (police patrols) improve Member States' implementation of EU policy. In contrast, oversight mechanisms that depend on cooperation between governments and interest groups hinder Member States' implementation of EU policy. These oversight mechanisms are independent of Governments' support for or opposition to European integration. However, ideological consensus between left and right is a necessary condition for high levels of police patrol oversight. Finally, Member State governments embroiled in prolonged political crises hinder EU policy implementation.