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Seeking to better understand how international factors affect EU policies and structures, this paper analyzes the contention between EU member states and the European Commission about the implementation of the provision of Kyoto Protocol regarding CO2 emission trading. The argument of this paper is that this challenge had offered the European Commission an opportunity to push its preferences for a EU-wide and mandatory mechanism against the preferences of the member states. This had also been a way for the Commission to overcome the resistance of member states on the issue of carbon taxation. From this case, this paper invites to reconsider the relevance of the "second image reversed" in order to capture the dynamics between supranational and international policy. Such an approach offers an alternative explanation to the process of Europeanization in integrating international factors. It also contributes to the development of an emerging scholarship on the role of supranational and international bureaucracy in world politics. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I will start with a discussion of the ?ET pregnancy?. Why is it meaningful to characterise it as ?ultra-quick?? Based on a summary of the main milestones and development of the process, a central tool will be to compare this process with some other relevant EU processes and also with central developments within the global Kyoto Protocol context. In section three I will then turn to some important possible explanations for this speediness. First, the experienced physician would take a closer look at the real starting point of the pregnancy. Had the EU actually been pregnant for some time when talks about ET picked up speed in 1998; could it be that the pregnancy in reality started when the EU started to develop climate policy back in 1991/1992? In other words, we need to look at central problem characteristics and the very ?ripeness? of the ET issue within the EU context around 1998. Second, could it be that a strong and heavy-handed midwife contributed to a shortening of the pregnancy period? This of course refers to the seemingly dominant role of the Commission indicated above. Could it be that a unified and strong Commission provided the entrepreneurial services needed to ?install? this complex system in record time; hence providing the sort of problem-solving capacity sorely lacking in other international contexts? Moreover, was this strong role of the Commision combined with positive and ?abiding? other EU institutions? Third, it is common knowledge that external impulses and shocks may shorten a pregnancy. This refers to interaction, linkages and learning in relation to bodies, actors and processes outside of the EU. Among other things, it is here natural to consider the US withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol process in March 2001. This may have opened a window of opportunity for EU global climate leadership and may have spurred the development of internal EU climate policy. Finally, section four will sum up central findings and reflect a little on implications for future effectiveness. Does the ?ultra-quick pregnancy? mean ?a premature baby?? For instance, could it be that central stakeholders and target groups have not been adequately consulted and important policy externalities have not been taken into consideration? Moreover, do recent developments in terms of Member States? follow-up of the 2003 Directive further substantiate that the EU ET policy-making speed is a quite break-neck one? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will assess the implementation of the 2003 EU emissions trading directive and the first year of operation of the system. Necessary conditions for climate policy success include, first, ambitious and harmonised National Allocation Plans (NAPs) which create scarcity in the system, and, second, the development of liquid and not too volatile trading. Have these conditions then been met so far? What can explain developments? At the EU level, factors such as the provision of clear and strong policy signals and guidance to the Member States will be discussed. At the domestic level, factors such as administrative capacity, including capacity to consult and learn from other Member States, and industrial lobbying will be discussed. Specifically focused Member States include Germany, Spain and the UK. The paper will wind up with a discussion of prospects ahead, both for the more short-term review and adjustment of the system in 2006 and the more long-term prospects for the ETS to significantly contribute to overall EU climate policy success? ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on directions and trends in environmental policy-making in the European Union (EU) since 1992. Changes in Commission priorities, the political environment, and the relationship between member States and the EU have had a significan impact on legislative and enforcement strategies and policies. The debate over subsidiarity has not ended but has been reformulated. Now, flexibility mechanisms have been created to address the gray areas between state and EU responsibilities. Implementation and enforcement remain as major problems. The difficulty of meeting environmental targets has been affected by enlargement, i.e. Kyoto. The success of policy instruments such as framework legislation, voluntary agreements, economic instruments and increased juridicial activity will determine the future of the EU as a global leader in environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So far, the Europeanisation of energy policy has occupied a remote place in the European integration literature. However, current developments such as the Energy Policy for Europe launched in 2007 and the Lisbon Treaty Title XXI on Energy have given greater prominence to this policy area within the integration process. Hence, there are several indications that the Europeanisation of energy policy is already taking place, even though the understanding over this process is still weak. And indeed, European studies are just beginning to shed light on this policy area. Against this backdrop, this article examines the EU environmental performance, supported by the Environmental Policy Integration (EPI), as a driver for the energy governance during the process of Europeanisation. Its main argument is that EPI is not only a variable for explaining the governance changes in the EU level concerning energy - defined here as 'green Europeanisation'-, but also a useful instrument for pursuing coherence within the emergent EU energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]