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Rethinking policy entrepreneurship: timing and institutional positioning in EU crisis governance, Evidence from the 2019 Civil Protection Reform
08/06/2026
Recent research distinguishing between proactive and reactive policy entrepreneurship has significantly enhanced our understanding of how actors shape policy processes. However, this dichotomy tends to conflate the timing of action with its orientation, obscuring important dynamics of entrepreneurial behavior.
This article develops an improved two-dimensional framework that distinguishes between a timing dimension (when actors engage: before or after a focusing event) and its orientation (what aims are pursued: transformative change or the preservation of the status quo). To demonstrate the value of this framework, we examine the positions of the European Commission, the Council of the EU, and the European Parliament in the 2017–2019 negotiation of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism’s reform. Drawing on the Multiple Streams Framework, our qualitative analysis of legislative debates and institutional documents shows that entrepreneurial roles are relational and context-dependent, shaped by institutional settings and evolving political opportunities. Ultimately, whether acting out of opportunity or constraint, policy entrepreneurs consistently exhibit opportunity-seeking behavior, responding to perceived openings within changing institutional and political environments.
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L’article analyse les négociations ayant conduit à la création de rescEU en 2019. Il montre comment la réforme est née d’un compromis entre la Commission, qui souhaitait renforcer les capacités européennes d’intervention et de coordination, et le Conseil, attaché à préserver la souveraineté des États membres tout en obtenant des financements européens pour de nouveaux moyens aériens. Le Parlement européen a joué un rôle d’intermédiaire, tout en défendant une meilleure prise en compte de la prévention des incendies. L’article permet ainsi d’identifier les raisons politiques et institutionnelles de cet équilibre.
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