European Policy Analysis Volume 2, Number 2, Winter 2016 | Page 100

However , it is possible to point to a number of shared aspects : they all have a sectoral criterion ; although the number of meetings varies over the years , an increasing trend is noticeable ( Graph 1 ); all of them develop supporting bodies ( sectoral commissions ) which are responsible for facilitating the work of plenary sessions ; most of them have procedural regulations ; they tend to adopt consensus as the most common form of decision-making ; and they include representation of the Autonomous Regions at the EU with a specific conference ( Sectoral Conference for EU Matters ), which does not share in the sectoral approach of the others .
European Policy Analysis
on Education , Health , and the Environment . This is for three reasons : the three were among the oldest ones as they were created between 1986 and 1989 ; secondly , all of them were distinguished by their regular activity from 2001 to 2012 ( Aja 2014 , 729 ; García Morales 2008 ); and , thirdly , the three deal with policies of considerable prominence with substantial portions of public spending and territorial projection which sometimes implies a high level of political and ideological confrontation . In this sense , this argument could be further justified bearing in mind another question : both Education and Health Conferences tend to deal with what has been called “ high politics ,” while the Environmental
Graph 1 . Number of meetings of the Sectoral Conferences per year ( 1981 – 2014 )
Source : Elaborated by the authors using MINHAP data ( 2014 ).
To test the elaborated hypothesis , we focused our study on the years 2001 – 12 , as this is the period during which the greatest number of Sectoral Conference meetings took place . Furthermore , not all the Sectoral Conferences were analyzed . The research included just three : the Sectoral Conferences
Conference represents that kind of rather technical policies that are often hidden from broad public attention in the sense indicated by Lazar ( 2006 , 25 ). Thus , we think that our three-conference sample should neutralize different possible objections regarding their consolidation , regularity and the very nature
100