How strong is deliberation in EU intergovernmental decision making? deliberation in the field of justice and home affairs

The argument that intergovernmental decision making in the EU is not marked by bargaining alone and that occurrences of deliberation play an important role is gaining increasing recognition in the literature. In this article, we critically evaluate that claim by developing a notion of deliberation along Habermasian lines, in which deliberation is understood as a process that induces negotiating partners to change positions through argumentation. Based on this conceptualization, we explore to what extent and under which conditions deliberation is likely to occur in intergovernmental settings. To that end, we analyse decision-making on the proposal to give law enforcement authorities access to the Visa Information System. We conclude that a ‘thicker’ conceptualization yields relatively few instances of deliberation. Moreover, we identify a number of specific conditions, and interrelationships between them, that are conducive to this kind of deliberation.