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European Studies Master Programme
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9th
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Internship project, revised version
Navn(e) og CPR-nr. (10 cifre)
Navn(e)
Dan Ioan Bodunescu
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Speciale
01-03-2012
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Projekttitel/Synopsistitel/Speciale-
Can the potential transformation of the European Crime Prevention Network
into an observatory with a similar structure as the European Monitoring
titel
Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction increase the efficiency of the crime
preventing organisation?
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 Ramboll Management Consulting ............................................................................................. 4
1.2 The EU Affairs Department ......................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Internship at Ramboll Management Consulting .................................................................. 6
2. Problem definition ................................................................................................................................. 9
2.1 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 10
2.1.1 Crime prevention .................................................................................................................. 10
2.1.2 Crime prevention in the European Policy Context ................................................... 13
2.1.3 The European Union Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) .................................... 14
2.1.4 The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).. 16
3. Methodology .......................................................................................................................................... 19
3.1 Limitations ....................................................................................................................................... 21
4. Theory ................................................................................................................................................... 21
4.1.
Organisational Structure Theory ............................................................................................. 21
4.2.
Structural Contingency theory ................................................................................................. 22
4.3.
Organisational theory in the European institutional context ....................................... 23
5. Analysis ................................................................................................................................................... 24
6. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 27
Reference list .............................................................................................................................................. 28
Abbreviations list:
DG – Directorate General
DG EMPL – Directorate General for Employment and Social Opportunities
DG ENTR – Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry
DG HOME – Directorate General for Home Affairs
DG INFSO – Directorate General for Information, Society and Media
DG MOVE – Directorate General for Transport and Mobility
EMCDDA – European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
EU – European Union
3
EUCPN – European Union Crime Prevention Network
1. Introduction
The introduction chapter has the purpose of setting up the context in which the internship project
was developed. It will include some facts about Ramboll Management Consulting and its EU
Affairs department and an overview of my activity as an intern in this department.
1.1 Ramboll Management Consulting
Ramboll Management1 is an international management consultancy with over 450 employees in the
offices from Aarhus, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hamburg, Helsinki, Brussels, Oslo and Stockholm.
Ramboll provides consultancy services within the areas of management, IT, evaluation, research
and survey to the global market. It has 40 years of experience from projects throughout the world
and it carries out more than 700 projects on an annual basis across the globe, and takes pride in its
multi-cultural environment and approaches. Ramboll is deeply rooted in the unique consultancy
tradition in the Ramboll Group, built up during the past 60 years. For more than three decades as
management consultants, it has helped to improve and adapt society's organisations, business
processes and people through research, analysis, development and communication.
Ramboll’s employees have a wide variety of educational and empirical backgrounds, and include
political and business economists, sociologists, political scientists, lawyers, psychologists,
engineers, MAs, computer scientists, etc. Many of the consultants are acknowledged experts in their
fields of labour market, integration/migration, health care, education, IT, experience industry,
public administration, welfare policies, etc.
Ramboll holds a solid position in the Northern European market as a leading provider of
consultancy services for public authorities. At the national level, customers include ministries, state
agencies, counties, and municipalities in our home markets and neighbouring countries.
Internationally, we carry out assignments for organisations such as the European Institutions, bodies
and agencies, the United Nations and the World Bank, etc.
1
Ramboll Management Consulting company presentation
4
1.2 The EU Affairs Department
The EU Affairs team is rather small, but very homogenous. It consists in a total of eight consultants
and four interns evenly divided between the Copenhagen and Brussels office. Because the team is
composed by people with different nationalities (7 Danes, 2 Finns, 2 Romanians and 1 French), but
also because the nature of the work of the EU Affairs department, the working language is English,
as opposed to the other departments where the working language is the national language of the
country where the office is situated. The department's activity can be divided into two parts:
 Tendering
 Project development
The tendering activity includes the monitoring of the European market with the purpose of finding
opportunities that fit with Ramboll Managment's expertise and capabilities. Once a tender is
identified and labelled with a solid chance of winning, the EU Affairs team is in charge with writing
and submitting a proposal. This process is very complex and intense as the team has to:

develop a strong methodology

show a sound understanding of the subject

build up strategic partnerships with other consultancies in order to eliminate a potential
competitor or become stronger

involve consultants from other departments of Ramboll Management or sometimes even
from other Ramboll companies, such as Ramboll Engineering or Ramboll Economics

make subcontracting agreements with Universities or Academic individuals who can
provide high level specific knowledge

develop a budget that needs to comply with the contractor demands but still to ensure profit
for the company

gathering a whole set of administrative documents required by the contractor, such as Legal
Entity forms, Exclusion Criteria, Bank statements, power of attorneys and so on
As mentioned above, the process is very intense because the usual time between the tender
publishing date and the submission deadline is around three weeks.
The project development activity comes into place once a tender is won. Here, the complexity of
the work is even higher than in tendering, because the consultants, with the help of the interns, have
5
to, on one hand, take care of their part of project writing and on the other hand, secure the
management of the project. For the EU Affairs team, project writing includes:

Data collection (desk research, interviews etc.)

Report writing (developed according to the methodology proposed in the tender, after the
data collection)
Project management comprises the following activities:

Keeping a close contact with all the parties involved (client, partners, subcontractors)

Making sure that all the deadlines are respected and that all the deliverables have a high
quality standard

Organising specific events such as workshops, seminars or public consultations

Making sure that the budget of the project is respected, by controlling all the expenses.
1.3 Internship at Ramboll Management Consulting
My internship at Ramboll Management Consulting has started in August 2011 and will continue
until February 2012. During my time in the EU Affairs department I have acquired a huge amount
of knowledge about the European Commission, its external agencies and different legislations,
networks or programmes, through my involvement in specific assignments. Also, I've realised that I
had a lot of knowledge acquired at the university, but only now, after seeing it in practice I've
actually understood the essence of it. My first two weeks in the Brussels office were very
overwhelming, as I took over from the previous interns in a very busy period with lots of tenders to
write and several projects that were about to be finished. In my third week I was invited, along with
my other intern colleagues to an introduction course in Copenhagen. Here we were explained the
basics of the job and after this I gained more trust in my capabilities and returned back to Brussels
in high spirits. As an interesting aspect, having now met the other members based in Copenhagen of
the EU Affairs team, I have learned that almost half of the consultants working in this department
have graduated the same European Studies Master Programme at Aalborg University as I am now
studying.
My assignments as an intern can be divided into two major parts:
 Market Surveillance
6
 Tender work
Market surveillance basically means looking for tenders that Ramboll Management could be able to
win, making a short synthesis and forwarding it to the responsible consultant for the specific
Directorate General (DG) or Agency. The market surveillance also includes activities such as
gathering intelligence about the work of other competitor companies or about the award history of a
DG. Every two weeks there is a video meeting with all the team kept with the purpose of analysing
the new bidding opportunities. Here, I present what information I have gathered and write down any
questions that might appear and follow up on them.
Tendering has provided me with the most challenging and interesting activities during the
internship. Having to write background chapters on topics that were completely new for me with a
deadline in a week or searching for experts that can cover different countries or topics knowing that
you have to be very fast or else the competition will find them and contact them first were tasks that
really put my capabilities at a test. During my first five months I was involved in the following
tenders:

"Study on the willingness to pay to avoid selected human health outcomes due to exposure
to chemicals" by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)

"Evaluation of the EU initiative on stimulating innovation through smart use of ICT" DG
ENTR

"Evaluation of the Mutual Learning Programme within the European Employment Strategy"
DG EMPL

"Evaluation of the implementation of regulation (EC) No 1371/2007 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on rail passengers’ rights and obligations"
DG MOVE

"Evaluation of the European Union Crime Prevention Network" DG HOME

“Quantifying public procurement of research and development of ICT solutions in Europe”
DG INFSO

"Passenger Ship Safety Legislative Review" DG MOVE
The tender work included the following tasks:

Writing background and "understanding of the assignment" chapters of the tender. These
chapters are usually situated in the beginning of the technical proposal of the tender, right
7
under the company presentation. Their purpose is to show the client that the company is
fully aware of the context in which a project is needed and that the company has a solid
knowledge of the legislation or political/social environment in the given field.

Administrative tasks: preparing a list and collecting the administrative requirements that the
company, its partners and subcontractors need to provide. Even though this is not a very
challenging exercise, it has proved to be very time consuming, as sometimes we are working
with one or two partners and four or five subcontractors and each of them need to provide
legal entity forms, exclusion criteria forms, financial identification forms, power of
attorneys etc, along with cv's and references. However, I found this activity very useful
because it gave me the chance to interact with consultants, engineers or famous professors
from all over Europe.

Expert search. I have done this for the tenders where Ramboll Management is new and
trying to enter the market. Without having a network of acquaintances set up, it was
necessary to identify the best experts and then contact them with the purpose of
collaborating.

Attending tender openings. The tender openings are meetings that occur a few days after the
submission deadline has passed and the client has to publically present all the offers that
have been made. I was in charge with participating in all the tender openings in Brussels, not
only for the tenders where I was involved. My task was to find out which are our
competitors and report back to my colleagues. Again, this was an excellent networking
opportunity for me, as I met a lot of people inside the Commission, from interns to heads of
units.
I also had a lot of other smaller tasks from which I would highlight:

Writing letters of expression of interest for EuropeAid projects,

Updating different internal documents

Attending project meetings at the Commission and taking minutes
Finally, I was involved in the data collection process of an ongoing project – "Study to analyse and
assess the socio-economic and environmental impact of possible EU initiatives in the area of
freedom of movement for workers, in particular with regard to the enforcement of the current EU
provisions (in particular, article 45 TFEU and regulation (EEC 1216/68)". In this EU27 study I
8
participated in the interviews concerning the administrative burden for private companies of having
foreign workers in Sweden.
2. Problem definition
During November 2011 I was very actively involved in the proposal writing process of a tender
under the DG HOME framework contract on Impact Assessment, evaluation and evaluation related
services (HOME/2011/EVAL/01) about the "Evaluation of the European Union Crime Prevention
Network (EUCPN)". The main objective of the study, set up in the terms of reference2 is to evaluate
the activity and the performance of the EUCPN after 2009. As a secondary objective, there was a
requirement to investigate the feasibility of transforming the network into a European observatory.
As there are many forms of EU observatories throughout Europe, with different legal statutes and
structures, Ramboll Management has offered several examples of observatories in which the
EUCPN could be transformed. Some of the presented options were the "The European Monitoring
Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)"; "The European Observatory on Counterfeiting
and Piracy", "The European Employment Observatory" or "The European Observatory on Health
Systems and Policies". Most of them are set up with the purpose of collecting, researching,
analysing and disseminating information in their respective fields of activity and to ensure
cooperation and networking in doing so. With respect to the legal status and structure some
differences can be identified between existing observatories. For example, the EMCDDA is a
decentralised agency of the EU while the European Employment Observatory (EEO) is a
programme funded by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission,
via its financial instrument "PROGRESS".
The purpose of this internship project is to investigate if a potential transformation of the EUCPN
into an observatory would increase the efficiency of the network. The structure of the EMCDDA
will be used for the hypothetical transformation of the EUCPN because the EMCDDA seems to be
the best legally established and efficient EU observatory. This leads to a problem definition which
can be enounced as following:
2
In tenders under framework contracts, the terms of reference are not published, but only sent to the companies/organizations that have won the right
to participate in the bidding, therefore, it is not possible to present the documents
9
Can the potential transformation of the European Crime Prevention Network into an
observatory with a similar structure as the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug
Addiction increase the efficiency of the crime preventing organisation?
2.1 Background
The background chapter has the purpose of introducing the two organisations that concern this
project. The chapter will show the following:

Firstly that the fields of activity of the EUCPN and EMCDDA are not similar but circle
around the same wider field of fighting crime and on a European level they are both under
the jurisdiction of the Directorate General Home Affairs of the European Commission.

Secondly that the objectives of the two organisations are similar.

And finally that their legal entities and organisational structure are very different.
2.1.1 Crime prevention
Crime prevention is defined in the 2002 "United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime3"
as a concept which:
"Comprises strategies and measures that seek to reduce the risk of crimes occurring, and their
potential harmful effects on individuals and society, including fear of crime, by intervening to
influence their multiple causes" (ECOSOC 2002/13, Annex article 2.3)
As the definition clearly shows, crime prevention is a complex concept that can include several
different approaches at very different levels. In his 1998 article "The Crime and Disorder Act"4,
Professor Paul Ekblom presented three target groups in the field of crime prevention:

Primary: the general population of potential offenders, or of potential human and material
targets of crime
3
4

Secondary: the individuals with a particular risk of offending or victimisation

Tertiary: the individuals already convicted or victimised
ECOSOC Resolution 2002/13
THE CRIME AND DISORDER ACT, Paul Ekblom, 1998
10
This classification is particularly interesting as it is addressing both (potential) offenders and
(potential) victims of crime. Thereby the definition specifically marks that crime prevention
measures can be addressed at both (potential) offenders and (potential) victims. The classification
however needs some further clarification as there can be a potential overlap between the primary
and the secondary target groups. The secondary target group must therefore be defined as
individuals that have already been identified as having a particular risk of offending or
victimisation. In other words we know (or can gain knowledge about) exactly which individuals we
are addressing. With the primary target group, we are addressing a group of people whose identity
we do not know.
Another and more recent way of categorising crime prevention was developed by Henry Shaftoe in
his 2002 presentation on "Social Crime Prevention - Interventions to Reduce the Motivation to
Offend"5:

The use of the Criminal Justice System and the threat of punitive measures, to persuade the
potential offenders not to commit any crime. The Criminal Justice System consists in three
parts:
1. Law enforcement (Police)
2. Adjudication (Courts)
3. Corrections (prison, correctional institutions)6

Reducing the opportunities for the crime to occur; the so-called "situational crime
prevention" which involves actions such as improving the security of the physical
environment.

Reducing the motivation of the offenders and potential offender to commit crimes. Also
called the "social crime prevention". Social crime prevention is generally defined as a
"multidisciplinary approach which requires the collaboration of a range of sectors,
including health, housing, education, civil society groups and so on. It is differentiated from
5
6
Crime Prevention Information, Henry Shaftoe, 2002
http://definitions.uslegal.com/c/criminal-justice-system/
11
state centred approaches to crime reduction, which have traditionally shaped criminal
justice systems"7
By combining the target groups with the above presented approaches, a matrix can be developed to
classify different approaches to crime prevention. The table below represents measures/programmes
which have been carried under the EUCPN umbrella:
Table 1: Example of classification of measures
Primary: General
Secondary: Individuals with a
Tertiary: Individuals
population of potential
particular risk of offending or of
already convicted or
offenders
victimisation
victimised
The Criminal
The mobile police office
Justice
System
8
9
Ausweg - Germany
Wirral Integrated Offender
- Sweden.
Offer mitigation for young people,
Management Unit10 - UK
Discouraging potential
who were picked up by the police
Keeping re-offenders
offenders by placing a
because of consumption of drugs or
actively engaged in
police unit in the vicinity
alcohol, through participation in
rehabilitation activities
of interest points
one of the "Ausweg" programmes
Situational
Additional Safety –
crime
Romania
prevention
Discourage burglary by
improving the security
system of the houses
Social crime
I Create My Future Myself11 -
Mentor Scheme for the
prevention
Lithuania
Roma People12 - Czech
Identify and provide assistance for
Republic
young individuals at risk of drug
Appointment of a mentor
abuse and juvenile delinquency
to help Roma offenders
rehabilitate and integrate in
the society
7
Social Crime Prevention in South Africa's Major Cities, Ingrid Palmary, 2001
EUCPN website
9
EUCPN website
10
EUCPN website
11
EUCPN website
12
EUCPN website
8
12
2.1.2 Crime prevention in the European Policy Context
The European Policy Context up until 2009 of crime prevention is well described in the 2009
evaluation of the EUCPN13 carried out by the British consultancy CSES. It can be summarised in
the timeline below:
Figure 1: The European Policy Context from 1999-200914
Tampere summit followed
by Council Decision
2001/427/JHA
establishing the European
Crime Prevention
Network
Treaty of Amsterdam
establishing the legal
basis for crime
prevention activities at
EU level
1999
2000
2001
Communication on
‘Prevention and control of
organised crime: a
European Union strategy
for the beginning of the
new millennium’ setting
up the EU Forum on
Organised Crime
Prevention
2004
The Hague Programme
on ‘Strengthening
Freedom, Security and
Justice in the European
Union’ reiterating the
priorities for the EUCPN
and highlighting the
function of the EUCPN in
supporting the Council
and the Commission
Since the evaluation in 2009, the European Union in general, and crime prevention specifically have
been given a new legal basis in the form of the Lisbon Treaty. Until the coming into force of the
Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, the Member States were primarily responsible for crime
prevention in the European Union. The new Article 84 in the Lisbon Treaty states that "The
European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative
procedure, may establish measures to promote and support the action of Member States in the field
of crime prevention, excluding any harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member
States." This means that the cooperation of Member States in the field of crime prevention can now,
more concretely, happen within the remits of the European Union, and the EU institutions can pass
legislation supporting and promoting the Member States' work in this field.
Crime prevention belongs to the framework of EU cooperation in the field of Justice, Freedom and
Security, where the current objectives and priorities are set to a high extent by the Stockholm
Programme, which was agreed upon in 2009.15 The Stockholm Programme emphasizes the need to
13
Evaluation of the EUCPN, CSES, 2009
14
15
Evaluation of the EUCPN, CSES, 2009
Stockholm Programme - An Open and Secure Europe Serving and Protecting Citizens. OJ C 115, 4.5.2010. Chapter 4.3.2
13
ensure lack of duplication of work between the Member States, so that the best practices and
examples found and tried in one Member States can be used in others as well. It also points to the
characteristics of criminality as a cross-border activity, where it is necessary for Member States to
act together, or support each other, or when relevant, call for EU institutions' support in this field in
order to prevent mass criminality and cross-border crime. The Stockholm Programme foresees an
Observatory for the Prevention of Crime and invites the Commission to submit a proposal on the
potential of such an observatory.
Following the Stockholm Programme, the Internal Security Strategy of the EU, which was adopted
in February 2010, presents the main strategic objectives for fighting crime in the European Union.
These objectives, which are related to for example international crime networks, prevention of
terrorism and addressing radicalisation and recruitment, and raising levels of security in cyberspace,
are all presented from the point of view, where the importance of prevention and anticipation is
emphasised.16
2.1.3 The European Union Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN)
The EUCPN was set up by EU Council decision 2001/427/JHA17 in May 2001 and repealed by a
new Council decision 2009/902/JHA18 in November 2009. The objectives in the 2001 decision
were to promote crime prevention activities in the EU Member States, and provide means through
which valuable good practice in preventing mainly "traditional" crime could be shared. EUCPN was
evaluated in 2004 and again in 2009. The 2009 evaluation19 resulted in some 35 recommendations
on how to improve the network's efficiency and effectiveness in contributing to its key activities as
well as in its organisation and funding. Following this evaluation, the original founding legislation
was repealed and replaced by the new Council decision. The reorganisation has not concerned the
objectives which remained unchanged, but the structure and composition of the network were
significantly changed.
As of the 2009 Council Decision, the EUCPN thereby consist of:
16
Council of the European Union: Draft Internal Security Strategy for the European Union: "Towards a European Security Model". 5842/2/10,
23.2.2010, and Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: The EU Internal Security Strategy in Action: Five
steps towards a more secure Europe. COM(2010) 673 final, 22.11.2010
17
Council Decision 2001/427/JHA, 2001
18
19
Council Decision 2009/902/JHA, 2009
Evaluation of the EUCPN, CSES, 2009
14
 a Board. The Board includes national representatives (and their potential substitutes), an
executive committee and an elected chair.
 a Secretariat, composed by a secretary, a research officer and a team in charge with the
management of the network’s website.
 and the national contact points.
The relationship and responsibilities between the Board, the secretariat and the focal points are
stipulated in the Council Decision. They can be summarised into a relationship of mutual support
and interdependence as illustrated in the figure below:
Figure 2: The structure and responsibilities within the network
EU bodies,
agencies,
organisations
Mutual support in
exchanging crime
prevention information
and expertise
Observers
National
contact
points
Board
National
representatives
Executive
Committee
Focal point and
information sharing
Financial regulation,
Strategy, work
programme, etc
Secretariat
Chair
Support for meetings,
seminars etc.
Analytical support.
Host web-site
Researchers
The 2009 Council Decision also set out the objectives, tasks and approaches to be implemented to
accomplish the tasks (information exchange) of the network. The figure below illustrates how the
tasks and the elements to accomplish the tasks should help achieve the objectives.
15
Figure 3: Linking the tasks and objectives of the Council Decision
To accomplish the tasks
(Article 5)
a) Favour a multidisciplinary
approach
b) Be in close contact with crime
prevention bodies, local
authorities, local partnerships,
civil society, research institutions
and NGOs in the Member States
c) Set up and operate a website
incl. compendium of best
practices
d) Endeavour to use and
promote the results of projects,
relevant for crime prevention,
funded through Union
programmes
Tasks
(Article 4)
a) Facilitate cooperation,
contacts and exchanges of
information and experience
b) Collect, assess and
communicate evaluated
information
c) Organise conferences and
other activities designed to
achieve the objectives of the
network
d) Provide its expertise to the
Council and the Commission
e) Report to the Council on its
activities each year
f) Develop and implement a
work programme
Objectives
(Article 2)
Developing the various
aspects of crime
prevention at Union
level
support crime
prevention activities at
local and national level.
Crime prevention shall
cover all measures that
are intended to reduce
or otherwise contribute
to reducing crime and
citizens feeling of
insecurity
The overall objectives and tasks of the Council Decision have been further specified in the
Multiannual Strategy for the network, developed by the Chair under support of the Executive
Committee and approved by the Board. The current Multiannual Strategy for the European Crime
Prevention Network, which runs until 2015, "sets out the long-term orientations for the EUCPN in
order to increase its impact and strengthen its role in the field of crime prevention"20. The focus
areas and actions including the action plan of the multiannual programme may be subject to
changes if the annual work programmes (WP) prove this to be relevant.
The EUCPN has no legal personality, being defined in both 2001 and 2009 Council decisions as a
network part of a crime prevention strategy. Furthermore, the network has no budget of its own21.
The Board and the Secretariat are financed from the general budget of the European Union, while
for the Programmes developed under the EUCPN and for the national contact points, the Member
States are entrusted to deliver financial support.
2.1.4 The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
(EMCDDA)
20
21
Quoted from the introduction to the multiannual strategy.
Council Decision 2009/902/JHA, 2009
16
The EMCDDA was established in 1993 by Council Regulation (EEC) No 302/9322 and recast by a
new European Parliament and Council regulation in December 2006 (REGULATION (EC) No
1920/200623).
The objective of the EMCDDA, as defined in Article 1 of the 2006 Regulation is "to provide the
Community and its Member States with factual, objective, reliable and comparable information at
European level concerning drugs and drug addiction and their consequences" 24. In essence, this
means that the Centre's purpose is to collect and disseminate information in the respective field to
the EU institutions and to the Member States.
The Centre's aim of achieving its objective is accomplished by performing the following activities:

Collection and analysis of existing data. Collecting, registering and analysing
information resulted from research or received from other sources.

Improvement of data comparison methods. Continuously looking for new ways of
improving the comparability, objectivity and reliability of the data indicators.

Dissemination of data. Ensuring that the collected information is available to all the
targeted stakeholders in the field.

Cooperation with European and international bodies and organizations and with third
countries. Contributing at the facilitation of cooperation between Member States
authorities, Candidate States authorities, Europol, and any other international
organisations.

Information obligations. Informing the competent authorities of the Member States
about new developments and changing trends.
With regard to the organisation of the EMCDDA, the centre is composed by the following
elements:

The Directorate25, which has a dual purpose; on one hand it is in charge with the
management and administration of the centre and on the other hand it ensures that the
22
23
24
25
Council Regulation (EEC) No 302/93 on the establishment of a European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 1993
REGULATION (EC) No 1920/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL, 2006
Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006, Article 1.2., 2006
EMCDDA website
17
objectives are achieved by supervising the activity of the units. The head of the Directorate,
the Director, is proposed by the European Commission and appointed by the Management
Board of the EMCDDA for a renewable period of 5 years.

The Management Board26, which is the main decision-making body of the Centre. It is
composed by a representative from each Member State plus two representatives from the
European Commission and two European Parliament designated contacts. The board is in
charge with adopting the work programme of the Centre, the annual budget and an annual
"General report of activities".

An independent Scientific Committee27, which has the purpose of delivering opinions and
advice to the Management Board and Directorate on different scientific activities of the
Centre. The Committee is composed by 15 scientists selected following an open call for
tenders published in the Official Journal of the EU.

Eight operational units28 out of which four are under the jurisdiction of the Scientific
Division.
A figure29 presented on the EMCDDA website illustrates very clear the composition of the Centre:
Figure 4: The composition of the EMCDDA
26
27
28
29
EMCDDA website
EMCDDA website
EMCDDA website
EMCDDA website
18
Furthermore, the EMCDDA coordinates the Reitox Network30, a network composed by 30 national
focal points from the EU 27 countries, Norway and the candidate countries. The national focal
points have the job of collecting information from the national scenes of the drug field and forward
it to the Centre for analysis.
With regard to the legal status of the EMCDDA, the centre has its own legal entity an external
agency of the European Union31 as well as its own budget formulated by the Management Board
and approved by the European Commission.
3. Methodology
The methodology chapter has the purpose of explaining how the analysis of the project will be
developed. The analysis will be developed on three levels, two theoretical and one practical level.
The first theoretical level will set the place within the European Union of the new established
observatory through the Structural Contingency theory while the second theoretical level will
explain the structural organisation concept of the new observatory, by applying the same Structural
30
31
EMCDDA website
Agencies and decentralised bodies - EMCDDA
19
Contingency theory. The practical level of the analysis will be composed by a transformation of the
EUCPN structures, using the organisation of the EMCDDA structure as a model.
In this practical level the following aspects will be taken under consideration:

Transformation of the Secretariat

Transformation of the Board

Introduction on new working units

Transformation of the national contact points

The possible change of the legal status

The possible introduction on an own budget
The figure below presents a sketch of how the analysis will be developed:
Figure 5: Analysis development
20
3.1 Limitations
The purpose of this section is to explain the fact that this project can only be considered as valid if it
is assumed that the EMCDDA is more efficient in the results of its actions than the EUCPN is.
Ideally, the project would have started with checking if the EMCDDA is in fact a more efficient
organisation that the current EUCPN. This would have been a very complex investigation which
could be considered a project in itself. However, as this project is inspired by the European
Commission’s request to investigate the feasibility of transforming the EUCPN and that the
EMCDDA is legally very well rooted in the EU, it has to be assumed that the EMCDDA is more
efficient than the EUCPN.
4. Theory
4.1. Organisational Structure Theory
Organisational theories have emerged in the beginning of the 20th century as a mean to bring
organisation in the development of the corporations that appeared with the industrial revolution,
corporations that became harder to manage, as they grew bigger32. Even though organisational
theories are largely part of management studies and applied in the corporate world with the aim of
improving the company’s profits and performance, there have been attempts to transfer
organisational theories in European Studies and apply them to European institutions, as it will be
shown below.
But first of all it is important to have a look at the roots of the organisational theories which lie in
the work of Max Weber, the German sociologist, who, in his bureaucracy theory, proposed different
characteristics found in effective bureaucracies that would effectively conduct decision making,
control resources, protect workers and accomplish organisational goals 33. Weber’s theory
introduced the following notions:

Fixed division of labour

Hierarchy of offices

Rational legal authority
32
Max Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy
33
Max Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy
21

Creation of rules to govern performance

Separation of personal from official property and rights

Selection based on qualifications

Clear career paths
These concepts represent the foundations of several organisational theories developed in the middle
and towards the end of the 20th century, such as the Theory of Organisational Fit, developed in 1978
by R. E Miles and C. Snow or the Structural Contingency Theory, developed by P.R. Lawrence and
J.R. Lorsch in the end of the 1960’s.
4.2. Structural Contingency theory
The structural contingency theory stands for the fact that there is no single best way to design
organisational structures. The best way to build a structure is by taking into account the external and
internal situation of the organisation34.
The contingency approach to organisational structuring is meant to prepare an organisation to adapt
to the environmental uncertainties faced by the organisation.
Unlike Weber’s bureaucracy theory, which neglects the existence of certain contingencies that can
influence the management and structure of an organisation, the structural contingency theory claims
that an ideal model of structuring an organisation does not exist because each organisation faces its
particular contingencies depending of many factors such as legal entity, technology, competitors,
area of activity, etc.
In their research, theorists Lawrence and Lorsch discovered that organisations need to adapt to the
level of stability of the working environment in which they operate. In the case of a stable
environment, an organisation will function more efficient if its structure will be more formalised,
more centralised in the decision-making process and less reliant on mutual adjustment between the
departments. On the other hand, in the case of an uncertain working environment, the structure of
an organisation will need to be less formal, more decentralised and more reliant on mutual
adjustment between the departments. In this way, an organisation will be ready to react to the
changes which may appear in the unstable environment and therefore become more efficient35.
34
T. Burns, G.M. Stalker & P.R. Lawrence, J.W. Lorsch – What is contingency theory
35
T. Burns, G.M. Stalker & P.R. Lawrence, J.W. Lorsch – What is contingency theory
22
T. Burns and G.M. Stalker, other organisational theorists have conceptualised the approaches which
the organisations should adopt, in order face the different working environments36:

Mechanistic organisational structure, for more stable environments

Organic organisational structure, for more dynamic or uncertain environments.
4.3. Organisational theory in the European institutional context
As mentioned above, organisational theories are mainly used in management studies, but there were
several attempts to adapt such theories to European Studies in general and more specifically to the
EU institutions. One of the most recent and comprehensive attempt was A.E. Cakir’s paper on
“Organisational Theory: a new tool in European Studies” presented in 2008 at the 49th Annual
Convention of the International Studies Association San Francisco. US.
In Ceakir’s view, to adapt the Structural Contingency theory to the EU, one has to see the Union as
a big organisation composed by a plurality of departments which interrelate between themselves in
order adapt to certain contingencies and to achieve specific objectives37. A good example offered in
the paper of the application of the contingency theory in the European context was the very
beginning of the European integration, where Robert Schuman can be seen as a senior executive
who introduced the “Schuman Plan” in order to adapt to several contingencies, such as the
insecurity on the market or lack of products.
The paper concludes that the Structural Contingency theory can be applied as well to the modern
structure of the EU where the European Commission, The Council of the EU, the Parliament and
the Member States can be seen as a management board of a huge organisation and the different
Directorate Generals or External Agencies can be seen as departments38.
The fact that the EU has the capacity to adapt to different contingencies is demonstrated by the
ability to change its structure by introducing new departments or changing the role of the existing
ones39. For example, when terrorism emerged as an immediate threat, Europol, an organism
designed to combat terrorism, along with other criminal threats, was established.
36
37
38
39
T. Burns, G.M. Stalker & P.R. Lawrence, J.W. Lorsch – What is contingency theory
A.E. Cakir - Organisational Theory: a new tool in European Studies
A.E. Cakir - Organisational Theory: a new tool in European Studies
A.E. Cakir - Organisational Theory: a new tool in European Studies
23
5. Analysis
In this chapter, firstly a theoretical foundation will be set by introducing the EUCPN in the context
of the EU seen through the perspective of the Structural Contingency theory. Secondly, all the
elements that compose the current EUCPN will be transformed according to the structures that
compose the EMCDDA. Finally the Structural Contingency theory will be applied on another level,
directly on the EUCPN structure.
As stated in the theory chapter, in order to be able to apply the Structural Contingency theory to the
EU, it has to be seen as a big corporation. In this sense, the Commission, as a “member of the
management board” is looking to see if there is a need to introduce a new “department” in the crime
prevention area, by inquiring about the feasibility of building an observatory. This can be seen as a
way of a structure responding to the contingencies in the environment, namely the need of further
collaboration in the field of crime between all the stakeholders.
Moving on to the practical level of the analysis, the structures of the EUCPN will be transformed
using the model of the EMCDDA organisational structure. The figure below presents the
transformations that will occur and the level of transformation:
Figure 6: Transformations
24
Secretariat: The difference between the Secretariat of the EUCPN and the Directorate of the
EMCDDA is very small. They are both administrative structures with an almost similar tasks and
organization. Therefore, the Secretariat of the new observatory will keep the form of the EUCPN
secretariat and will have only a new task added that of supervision of the general activity of the
observatory.
The Management Board: The current Board of the EUCPN has almost the same composition and
responsibilities as the Management Board of the EMCDDA, so there is no point of remodelling it.
The chair of the Board is proposed by the European Commission and elected by the national
representatives and the Board is still in charge with developing the annual work plan and
supervising its accomplishment. A new addition to the responsibilities of the Board would be the
development of a three year work plan, besides the annual work plan and the drafting of a general
25
report of activities at the end of each year. Furthermore, once the new observatory will have its own
budget, the Board will be responsible for drafting and managing the annual budget.
Scientific Analysis Units: In the EUCPN there are no working units, so the introduction of the
units will represent a major modification of both the structure and the operational way of the new
observatory. In practice, this means that the new crime prevention organisation will now have the
possibility of analysing the collected information before dissemination. This leads to higher
knowledge on the subject and to a improved quality of the data directed towards the Member States
or other stakeholders.
National contact points: In order to become a very efficient structure in collecting information,
the network of national contact points will have to suffer a major transformation. Currently, the
network is composed mostly by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from each Member
State. Looking at the composition of the EMCDDA Reitox network, it is composed by drug
government agencies or government established NGO's which have as members academics or
experts in the field. For example, the Austrian National Focus Point40 is an NGO established by the
Ministry of Health and Polish National Focal Point (Centrum Informacji o Narkotykach i
Narkomanii41) is located under the National Bureau for Drug Prevention under the auspices of the
Ministry of Health. Therefore, the new data collection structure will become more specialised, by
establishing new crime prevention structures in the Member States where such structures do not
exist, or by attracting the already established crime prevention structures in the case where they
already exist. Furthermore, there is a need of involving academics and qualified experts in the field
of crime prevention from each Member State, as they have the ability of filtering and validating the
most relevant information that is forwarded to the operating units for analysis.
External EU policy agency: In both the 2004 and 2009 external evaluations of the EUCPN it is
mentioned that the unclear legal status has a major impact on the capacity and activities of the
network. Therefore, the new legal entity, an external EU policy agency will provide more stability
and more public confidence on both Member State level and EU level.
40
41
EMCDDA website
EMCDDA website
26
Own budget: The introduction of an own budget will provide much better organised work plans
and, with a proper management from the Board, it will open new possibilities for dissemination and
best practice activities, such as workshops, seminars or peer reviews.
As mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, the Structural Contingency theory will give the new
Crime Prevention Observatory a theoretical foundation.
Because the observatory’s work environment relates to European crime scene, which is a relatively
stable environment, a mechanistic organisational structure is more appropriate for the Observatory.
This fits perfectly with the choice of using the EMCDDA as a model, because the Drug-prevention
Observatory has a mechanistic structure as well.
Working in a stable environment, in a mechanistic approach means that it is more likely for the
observatory to achieve better results by centralising the decision-making in the hand of the
management board which should send its decision on a vertical way towards the national contact
points or to the analysis unit. Also the mechanistic approach supposes that there is no need of an
instant reaction from the units in case of contingencies, as the stable work environment gives the
opportunity to use the usual channels, which should be identification (by the national contact
points), analysis (by the analysis unit) and decision (by the management board). Finally, there is no
need for a close interaction between structures such as the Secretariat and the national contact
points or analysis unit, because again, the certain work environment allows the structures to set up a
standard collaboration scheme, which should secure the efficient development of activities.
6. Conclusion
In this chapter the main ideas presented in the analysis will be commented and also there will be an
attempt to answer the question formulated in the problem definition chapter:
Can the potential transformation of the European Crime Prevention Network into an
observatory with a similar structure as the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug
Addiction increase the efficiency of the crime preventing organisation?
The theoretical levels of the analysis have pointed out a number of interesting aspects. Firstly the
fact that the Structural Contingency theory is applicable in the EU institutional context and can
explain the Commission’s desire to see if the establishment of a crime prevention observatory could
be feasible, as a mean of the organisation (the EU) to respond to the contingency that is the rise of
27
crime and the need of further integration in this field. Secondly, the Structural Contingency theory
can direct the proper organisation of the new crime prevention observatory which can achieve the
best results by assuming a mechanistic approach.
During the practical level of the analysis, the main changes that have to occur, in order to have a
crime prevention observatory with a similar structure with the EMCDDA were presented. It can be
seen that, with regard to the administration and the management of the organisation, there is no
need for major transformations, as the current EUCPN already has, after the 2009 reorganisation, an
administrative and management apparatus which is very close in its composure with the EMCDDA.
Therefore, a possible answer to the problem would be that the efficiency of the crime preventing
organisation can be increased not by changing the form of the administration and the management,
namely the Secretariat and the Board. The efficiency can be increased by:

Establishing operational units that can analyse the collected information.

Reorganising the network of National contact points in a form which will facilitate the
collection of very relevant and valuable data.

Strengthening the legal capacity of the network by transforming it into an External Agency
of the EU.

Increasing its range of activities by providing an own budget.
Reference list

Agencies and decentralised bodies – EMCDDA:
http://europa.eu/agencies/regulatory_agencies_bodies/policy_agencies/emcdda/index_en.ht
m

A.E. Cakir - Organisational Theory: a new tool in European Studies http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/5/4/6/5/pages254651/p
254651-1.php

Council Decision 2001/427/JHA, 2001: http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2001:153:0001:0003:EN:PDF

Council Decision 2009/902/JHA, 2009: http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:321:0044:01:EN:HTML

Council of the European Union: Draft Internal Security Strategy for the European Union:
"Towards a European Security Model". 5842/2/10, 23.2.2010, and Communication from the
28
Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: The EU Internal Security Strategy
in Action: Five steps towards a more secure Europe. COM(2010) 673 final, 22.11.2010

Council Regulation (EEC) No 302/93 of 8 February 1993 on the establishment of a
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction:
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_1618_EN_302_93_en.pdf

Crime Prevention Information, Henry Shaftoe, 2002:
http://environment.uwe.ac.uk/commsafe/tallin.asp

ECOSOC Resolution 2002/13: http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/2002/resolution%20200213.pdf

EMCDDA website: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cfm/index1622EN.html

EUCPN website: http://www.eucpn.org/goodpractice/showdoc.asp?docid=206

Evaluation of the EUCPN, CSES, 2009: http://ec.europa.eu/homeaffairs/doc_centre/crime/docs/evaluation_eucpn_en.pdf

Max Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy http://www.businessmate.org/Article.php?ArtikelId=30

Ramboll Management Consulting company presentation

REGULATION (EC) No 1920/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL, 2006:
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/attachements.cfm/att_24215_EN_l_37620061227en0001001
3.pdf

Social Crime Prevention in South Africa's Major Cities, Ingrid Palmary, 2001:
http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/urbansafety/socialcrimeprevention.pdf

Stockholm Programme - An Open and Secure Europe Serving and Protecting Citizens. OJ
C 115, 4.5.2010. Chapter 4.3.2

T. Burns, G.M. Stalker & P.R. Lawrence, J.W. Lorsch – What is contingency theory http://www.businessmate.org/Article.php?ArtikelId=11

THE CRIME AND DISORDER ACT, Paul Ekblom, 1998:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ERORecords/HO/421/2/cdact/cstrng5.htm
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