The Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 298 TFEU establish a right of citizens to good administration, but the detailed provisions needed to enforce this right are lacking. For individuals and companies dealing with EU administration - mainly the Commission and agencies - ambiguous standards cause problems, which may ultimately hamper the achievement of EU objectives. A new Regulation on good administration would be an efficient means to influence institutional attitudes: the administration exists for the citizen and not vice versa. National experiences suggest citizen-friendly administration saves money. Both the citizens and the institutions benefit from clear standards and procedural requirements: a proper Regulation on good administration is a win-win alternative.

The enactment of a general law is considered to bring about substantial benefits, for both EU citizens and EU administration. Expected efficiency gains deriving from the adoption of a general law on administrative procedure are multiple and include enhanced legal security, enhanced legal and policy consistency, enhanced compatibility between Member State and EU law, a reduced burden on administrators, lawyers and judges, and a contribution to legal research / best practice exchange. Based on Member States' experience in public administration, the study identifies overwhelming evidence of the benefits of general law on administrative procedure, making a strong case for the adoption of a similar instrument at the level of the EU institutions.

A general Law of Administrative Procedure for the EU, based on Article 298 TFEU, and limited to the direct institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, of the Union would help to establish a single set of easily identifiable and comprehensible rules and standards that could increase guarantees for citizens, economic operators, NGOs and other legal persons across the board.

The enactment of a general law is considered to bring about substantial benefits, for both EU citizens and EU administration. Expected efficiency gains deriving from the adoption of a general law on administrative procedure are multiple and include enhanced legal security, enhanced legal and policy consistency, enhanced compatibility between Member State and EU law, a reduced burden on administrators, lawyers and judges, and a contribution to legal research / best practice exchange. Based on Member States' experience in public administration, the study identifies overwhelming evidence of the benefits of general law on administrative procedure, making a strong case for the adoption of a similar instrument at the level of the EU institutions.

The Research Network on EU Administrative Law (ReNEUAL) was established in 2009 and now comprises well over one hundred scholars and practitioners active in the field of EU and comparative public law. The aim of the network is to contribute to the development of a legal framework in which the constitutional values of the EU can be embedded in the exercise of public authority. Drafted by four working groups addressing the main aspects of EU administrative procedure, the ReNEUAL Model Rules offer a toolkit for European and domestic authorities seeking to regulate administrative action, reinforcing general principles of EU law and identifying, on the basis of comparative research, best practices in different specific policies of the EU. The book includes an extended introduction chapter, followed by the Model Rules, which are organised into six parts. Part I addresses general issues concerning the scope of the Model Rules and their relation to existing rules in EU legislation and Member State law; Part II is concerned with rulemaking by EU institutions, bodies, offices, and agencies; Part III focuses on single case decision-making by EU institutions, bodies, offices, and agencies; Part IV addresses contracts of EU institutions, bodies, offices, and agencies; Part V discusses mutual assistance between administrations; and Part VI addresses inter-administrative information management.

Key chapters, written by leading experts across the field, engage with important ongoing debates in the field of EU administrative law, focusing on areas of topical interest such as financial markets, the growing security state and problematic common asylum procedures. In doing so, they provide a summary of what we know, don’t know and ought to know about EU administrative law. Examining the control functions of administrative law and the machinery for accountability, this Research Handbook eloquently challenges areas of authoritarian governance, such as the Eurozone and security state, where control and accountability are weak and tackles the seemingly insoluble question of citizen ‘voice’ and access to policy-making.