Crisis Management in the EU : A Study on the Variation of Institutionalisation in the EU’s Crisis Management Capacities within Public Health and Critical Infrastructure

Sammanfattning: This study aims to explain why there is a variation in the institutionalisation of the EU's transboundary crisis management capacity through understanding European integration. To exemplify this variation, it will investigate the areas of common safety concerns regarding public health and critical infrastructure which are two areas with a high and low institutionalisation of its crisis management capacities, respectively. While previous literature has studied the transboundary crisis management capacities that currently exist, few studies have aimed to study why a variation in these capacities exist across policy sectors. Using neo-neofunctionalism and an institutional framework for analysis presented by Boin, et al. (2013) as this study's theoretical framework, this thesis presents two hypotheses. Using a qualitative content analysis, this study examines the EU treaties from the Maastricht Treaty to the Lisbon Treaty, as well as official documents published by the EU, including legislative texts, press releases, communications and staff working documents. This study has found that when there are more incidents of transboundary crises within a policy area, that area will have higher levels of crisis management capacities. However, a policy area that intersects with two or more sectors will only have a higher level of crisis management capacities if there is also a higher number of transboundary crises that has affected that area.