Paper short abstract:

Within the EU today, member states' policies are being evaluated against indicators to make them transparent and coordinated. However, the Eurocrats' discussions at EU meetings reveal struggles for control over what may be displayed, making the vision of a transparent postnational EU far from view?

Paper long abstract:

Within the European Union today, an attempt is being made to co-ordinate the member states employment policies through guidelines, indicators and recommendations. The development of indicators may be seen as a general global trend responding to demands for accountability, transparency and control over processes, a trend labelled audit society (Power 1999) or audit cultures (Strathern 2000). In the EU, the idea of transparency between the member states is seen as a step towards a more integrated EU. Eurocrats and politicians attempt to create a feeling of 'full attachment' (Appadurai 2000) to the EU, in the peoples of the Union, by the use of governmental technologies and cultural symbols (Shore 2000). Technologies such as 'transparentisation' of the nation states are part of this project (Shore 2000; Walters and Haahr 2005).

In the EU Employment Committee meetings Eurocrats from the member states and the European Commission negotiate on what indicators may or may not be used to evaluate, audit and compare member states employment policies. To study this I have followed the work of the EU Employment Committee through a trainee position at the European Commission and by following the Swedish delegation to the Employment Committee meetings. The discussions at the meetings reveal a struggle for power and control over how transparency is to be displayed and what member states want to be accountable for, making the vision of transparent, integrated nation states, forming a postnational EU, far from view. Or is it?