An ever closer union of national policy? The convergence of national environmental policy in the European Union

Abstract:

This article examines how far the EU has succeeded in encouraging the content, structure and style of national environmental policies to converge. Using fresh empirical evidence collected from 10 national environmental policies, it presents a very mixed pattern of change, with some elements of national policy converging more rapidly (and through different causal pathways) than others. These findings are viewed through the lens of popular theories of structural convergence, integration and Europeanization respectively, to reach a fuller understanding of the pathways and outcomes of change in an enlarging EU.