Europeanisation at work: A study of regional domestic adaptation to the EU

The study of Europeanisation has not paid sufficient attention to domestic factors in accession countries. It is highly important to address this problem, especially in the case of the applicant countries, since the EU's impact on domestic transformations is likely to interact with other processes specific to the postcommunist transition period. This article therefore concentrates on identifying domestic intervening variables that may explain the adaptation and change of domestic policy in response to Europeanisation pressures. To this end, a two-part analytical framework is developed. First, the article identifies the main intervening variables from the literature on Europeanisation. Secondly, it applies them to the Romanian regional policy case. The empirical evidence covers the theoretical assertions and the analysis displays a twofold situation for the Romanian case: a fit in terms of legislative adoption and a misfit in terms of implementation and conceptual understanding. Some tentative conclusions will then be proposed.

http://www.coleurope.be/content/publications/pdf/Collegium29.pdf http://www.coleurope.be/content/publications/pdf/Collegium29.pdf

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