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

This article examines how far the EU has succeeded in producing a secular convergence of the content, structure and style of national environmental policies. Using fresh empirical evidence collected from ten 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 Europeanisation respectively, to reach a fuller understanding of the pathways and outcomes of any policy convergence in an enlarging EU.