Does the EU learn from crises?

In this excellent article, Wout Broekema (Leiden University) explains how politicization affects EU learning in four oil disasters.

ABSTRACT: This article explores the relation between issue politicization and crisis-induced learning by the EU. The author performs a political claims analysis on the political response to the four major oil spill disasters that have occurred in European waters since 1993. Political claims observed in three arenas (mass media, national parliaments, and the European Parliament) were compared with recommendations in post-crisis evaluation reports and the EU’s legislative responses. For all three political arenas, findings indicate that politicization of issues either promotes or impedes crisis-induced EU learning, which points to the existence of determining intervening factors. EU legislation that is adopted in response to oil spill disasters appears to a large extent grounded in crisis evaluation reports. Characteristics of crisis evaluation reports, especially the degree of international focus, seem to offer a more plausible explanation for variance in crisis-induced learning outcomes than politicization.

You can find the full article here.