In this paper I explore the relationship between Independent Regulatory Agencies (IRAs) and European authorities. In particular, I focus on the variation of soft law content (e.g. principle guidelines, advices, etc.) between the European level and the domestic one. The leeway that IRAs have when dealing with the content of soft-law in a multi-level scenario has not yet been adequately explored and assessed. The main goal of this work is to find out under which conditions IRAs have the margin to vary, radically, a little bit or not at all, the content of soft law elaborated at the European level. Specifically, I argue that the national background, the characteristics of the fields and of the agencies, affect the way soft-law are transposed.
In order to explore this phenomenon, the paper explores the conditions determining the leeway IRAs have in the variation of the content. In particular I focus on a list of directives in two fields, namely food safety and environmental protection in four European countries. In this regard, a cross-national and cross-sectorial fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis will be carried out.
This paper has three aims: first, it contributes to the research on IRAs operations. Second, it provides an empirical contribution on the relationship between the EU, regulatory governance, and domestic transpositions. Third, it contributes to the debate on the combination between IRAs and soft law representations.
