1st Edition
Europeanization of Environmental Policy in the New Europe Beyond Conditionality
Prior to the European Union (EU) 2004/2007 enlargement there were several predictions that this event would hamper progressive decision-making within the EU on environmental policy. It was believed that the new member states had adopted EU rules as a consequence of the EU's conditionality and consequently they would rather slow down the reform speed in the field after accession. In this book, Mats Braun offers an up-to-date account of how post-communist member states have handled policy initiatives in the field of environmental policy after accession. Using detailed case studies of how Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania dealt with two different EU policy initiatives - REACH and the Climate-Energy Package - he explores whether social norms and the process of socialization can help us understand why the track record of new member states in the area of environmental policy is more varied than was originally envisaged prior to enlargement.
Biography
Mats Braun is a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague and a lecturer at the Metropolitan University in the same city. He is a member of the Executive Council of the 'Central and East European International Studies Association' (CEEISA) and Editor-in-Chief of the journal 'Perspectives - Review of International Affairs'. He has recently published in the journals Journal of Common Market Studies and Cooperation and Conflict, among others. He is the author of the book Modernisation Unchallenged: the Czech Discourse on European Unity and co-editor of the book The Quest for the National Interest: a Methodological Reflection on Czech Foreign Policy (2010).
’A major contribution to the literature on the limits of Europeanization and state socialization after the Eastern enlargement of the European Union. In mastering the various facets of environmental policy in Central Europe, Braun shows us how relevant this policy field is for the study of the differentiated understanding of EU norms and values by the EU member states.’ Elsa Tulmets, CERI / Sciences Po, Paris, France ’The European Union has often been considered to be a global environmental champion promoting the diffusion of norms such as ecological modernization, sustainable development or the precautionary principle. But the accession of the ten Eastern European states has increased heterogeneity within the EU, making common agreements on shared norms ever more difficult. Based on impeccable methodological underpinnings that connect the EU’s ability to norm diffusion and domestic contexts, Mats Braun’s book is the first one to show how the new member states are successfully socialized into EU decision-making - and the problems that remain. This will be a crucial reading both for scholars and practitioners interested in the transformative power of Europe, its impact on Central and European Member states, and the future of the EU’s green agenda.’ Aron Buzogány, University of Munich, Germany 'Europeanization of Environmental Policy in the New Europe provides interesting case studies on the policy approaches of four CEECs towards the EU’s REACH legislation and climate policy package 2008/9, based on rich qualitative data. By analysing CEECs’ positions after their adoption of the environmental acquis communautaire, he contributes to a new field of research and a new stream of the EU normative power literature.' LSE Review of Books
