Implementation of EU Social Policy Directives in Belgium: What Matters in Domestic Politics?

Abstract: This paper provides insight into the transposition in Belgium of six EU social policy directives adopted during the 1990s. Arguing that domestic politics matter for understanding transposition of EU policies in this country, it addresses the discordant findings concerning propositions about misfit, administrative inefficiencies and difficulties, as well as veto players. On the basis of an in-depth country analysis, it shows how these concepts can be clarified by taking into account factors that have typically been omitted in quantitative research and by analysing more directly mechanisms that are not easily captured by quantifiable proxies. The paper concludes by describing the efforts that have been undertaken in Belgium to adjust specific features of the national political system so as to cope better with adaptation requirements, which again reinforces the relevance of domestic politics for implementation processes.