The European Union's Regional Advisory Councils - A governability assessment of the South Western Waters

Abstract

The 2002 Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform introduced a set of novelty bodies, the Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) to enhance stakeholder involvement and correct one of the policy’s primary deficiencies, its lack of legitimacy, arising in part from low stakeholder involvement. Based on an analytical study of the South Western Waters RAC (SWWRAC), this thesis illuminates the current capacities and limitations linked to the governance process of the South Western Waters through a governability assessment. Stakeholder participation in the CFP is seen as a precondition to guarantee legitimacy to the regulatory measures aimed at achieving sustainable fisheries in EU waters. This study illustrates the importance of critical examination of stakeholders’ experiences and expectations and what they imply for the governance of the RACs.