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This Editorial looks at the process of political and economic integration between the European Union and the European Neighborhood Policy countries with a special focus on the processes linked to trade flows, Foreign Direct Investment and their spatial impacts. This Editorial highlights the key ‘unanswered’ questions in the existing literature and explores outstanding conceptual and empirical challenges, discussing how the various papers included in the Theme Issue can provide systematic coherent answers to a number of these research questions. The Editorial includes a synopsis of the key findings of the papers and highlights their connections and linkages. It concludes with open questions for further research and a potential agenda for future conceptual and empirical analyses in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environment acquis are, by common consent, amongst the most technically and politically demanding that a state aspiring to EU membership must transpose. SEE states confront a major ‘gap’ between the policies and institutions they have and what they must achieve. Transposition requires the creation of policy networks involving a broad range of state and non-state actors. This paper examines the efforts of Croatia and Macedonia to adapt to EU environmental policy. Using social network analysis the paper focuses on institutional creation and evolution and argues that effective governance depends on the prior creation of effective hierarchies. Networks exist but capacities and capabilities are in short supply and this reinforces the centre and government over civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this paper we address the problems of institutional changes in governance and the framing of biodiversity conservation policy at the level of the enlarged European Union (EU). Results are demonstrated from selected examples of institutional adaptation to EU biodiversity policy from five Central and Eastern European countries, characterized by different socialist regimes and different transition processes from hierarchical to democratic and market governance. The theoretical basis of this paper is institutional rebuilding in the context of the emerging multilevel environmental governance of the EU. The paper demonstrates that successful institutional coevolution of EU institutions with preexisting institutions is a precondition for synchronization of biodiversity policies. The emergence of multilevel governance with multiple actors' participation is prone to creating tensions, but evidence from the countries studied indicates that this is not necessarily a disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial biotechnology involves the replacement of petrochemical processes and inputs with more energy-efficient and renewable biological ones. It is already being used in the production of biofuels and bioplastics and has been touted as a means by which modern economies can be shifted toward a more competitive, low-carbon growth model. This paper does two things. First, it outlines the policy framework established in the European Union and the narrative of a knowledge-based bioeconomy (KBBE) underpinning this. Second, it argues that the 'win-win' rhetoric contained within the KBBE narrative is misleading. Among the different groups commenting on the use of industrial biotechnology, the paper locates cleavages between farmers and agribusiness, between those convinced and those sceptical of environmental technofixes, and between procorporate and anti-corporate NGOs. Taken together, they show the purported transition from a fossil-fuel to a bio-based economy to be a resolutely political one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper undertakes a critical assessment of the influence of the EU Cohesion policy on regionalisation and the role of regional institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. It addresses questions that are central to ongoing theoretical debates about the role of the region in the new member states. Have the powers and resources of the regions been strengthened by their involvement in EU support programmes? Are regions increasingly involved in integrated 'bottom-up' responses to regional development challenges? The paper offers a fresh perspective on these issues, with a cross-national analysis of practical experience in the postenlargement period and a detailed assessment of the technical, variable, and complex reality of working with EU Structural Funds. A distinctive approach of the analysis is to disaggregate the stages of Structural Funds programme management and delivery, thereby highlighting the varied nature of regional involvement in Structural Funds. Ultimately, the paper questions the notion that Structural Funds build regional structures and competence, and lead to 'stronger regions'. Instead, it is argued that there is no guarantee that the Structural Funds will necessarily promote regionalisation in Central and Eastern Europe, at least in the short to medium terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural development has, in recent years, become a major area of EU policy, to the extent that the term has even begun to be overused in signifying a new shift in EU rural policy. The result has been a great deal of misunderstanding and numerous divergent interpretations of both the concept and the practice. Although rural development existed as a policy domain before the arrival of the accentuated 'Second Pillar' of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy, the fact is that an increasingly Europeanized approach to rural development funding, programming, and administration has developed in the post-1999 period. In this paper we argue that the study of rural development policy will gain a great deal from using a policy network approach to interpret the dynamics of evolving rural development policy within member states. Our main aim is to analyze and interpret the newly emerging Rural Development Policy Network in Greece, which aspires to separate itself from a strong and resistant Agricultural Policy Network. The example of Greece suits the purpose of the paper not only because of Greece's continuing reliance on agriculture and the centrality of the latter in sustaining rural livelihoods, but most importantly due to the institutional arrangements developed around it, which are characterized by a prevalence of agricultural interests at the expense of wider rural concerns. The concern of this paper is with the mechanisms of transition, and to a lesser extent with its outcome. One major finding is that the policy network approach to the study of rural development policy in Greece brings to light a certain transformation in policy structures, mechanisms, and administration. This transformation is not so evident at the level of policy style and/or policy outcome. Due to it having been labeled a 'laggard' member state, Greece has been affected by the Europeanization of rural development policy and has to some extent transformed its policymaking procedures accordingly. At the same time, the process of Europeanization has acted to empower civil society mechanisms and actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poland's membership of the EU will involve economic integration across a variety of fields, with important potential implications for the external environment in which business is conducted in Poland. These implications stem first from the need to adapt Polish legislation, regulatory systems, and methods of certification and standards to EU requirements; and, second, from the continuing process of transforming the Polish economy into a market-based system. Although integration processes have important potential implications for Polish firms of all sizes, it can be argued that there are size-related characteristics of SMEs that can affect their ability to cope with potential threats and respond to new opportunities presented. The paper draws on two studies commissioned by the Polish SME Foundation, in which the authors were involved. The first was concerned with a comparison of the conditions for SME development in Poland with those in EU member states; the second specifically with the implications of accession for Polish SMEs. In this context, the paper considers three key questions: (1) What are the main sources of threat and opportunity for Polish SMEs, arising out of EU membership? (2) What are the main implications for Polish and EU policymakers? (3) To what extent are the implications of Poland's accession to the EU similar to or different from the issues faced by SMEs in the United Kingdom at the time of Single Market completion? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the export activities of international firms from seven European countries with a special focus on the neighbourhoods of Europe, where 16 countries have been included in the neighbouring policy. Using a detailed dataset of the internationalisation activities of nearly 15,000 companies, we focus on the best export destinations of European Union firms. In 2008, only 6% of exporters had at least one neighbouring country in their top three export destinations. We subsequently model the export/no-export activity of each firm and the location of the first export destination by means of a nested logit model and find that this process is driven primarily by geography. No reduction (or even an increase) of the strength of the distance effect can be detected for a firm when exporting outside Europe to nearby countries, meaning that European Union firms do not have any particular advantage in exporting their goods in countries near their borders with respect to all the other possible destinations in the world. The ‘repulsive force’ of distance is alleviated only when moving outside of neighbourhoods where the size of the destination market becomes stronger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the process of industrial diversification in the countries that were part of the European Union (EU-27) and those that were the target of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in the period 1995–2010 by means of world trade data derived from the BACI database (elaborated UN Comtrade data). Our results show that in both the EU-27 and the ENP countries, the evolution of the productive structure—as proxied by the export mix—is strongly path-dependent: countries tend to keep a comparative advantage in products that are strongly related to their current productive structure, and they also diversify in nearby products. However, this effect is much stronger for ENP countries, signalling their lower resources and capabilities to diversify in products that are not very related to their productive structure. We also show that the future export structures of countries are affected by their imports: both the EU-27 and ENP countries keep a comparative advantage in products that are strongly related to their imports, but only EU countries show a strong capability to diversify in new products from related import sectors. Our results also hold when controlling for geographical and institutional proximity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agrienvironmental schemes (AES) have been a predominant manifestation of environmental policy Integration in the EU. However, rather than strictly following formal AES policy, farmers across Europe have taken various other initiatives to integrate environmental and agricultural practices. Mostly, these integrative initiatives were based on dynamic actor networks at various levels, responding to local problems and challenges. Compared with situations where, from the top down, one (mostly weaker) policy domain is integrated into another, the kind of integration taking place in these examples may be called more ‘fundamental’. Here, integration is already embedded in the practical outcomes envisioned in specific places. The parts of the outcome require each other. However, this fundamental form of integration may render problems at other levels and sectors of governance. In this paper we present a case study of an initiative called Farming for Nature. The initiative aimed to integrate farming and nature more thoroughly than EU and national policies and incorporated some important other characteristics of the area, such as its water dynamics and relationships with the urban environment. However, it also involved some key differences from mainstream policy; and although it resonated with EU support for participative governance, these differences rendered a lengthy process towards implementation lasting more than half a decade. We use the concept of ‘landscape governance’—operationalized as the interplay of discourses, institutional practices, and natural–spatial conditions—to understand the politics of scale involved when mainstream government policies and local integrative initiatives meet. Particular attention is paid to how the local ideas toned down some of their integrative ingredients in order to comply with mainstream sectoral policy discourse. We find that the type of landscape governance implemented shaped the initiatives into a form that contributed to their implementation, but simultaneously displaced and contained political conflict in a way that prevented public debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy integration is a challenging process that involves the renegotiation of interests, beliefs, and sectoral policy boundaries. In this paper we introduce European forest policy as an arena that is characterized by a policy (dis)integration paradox. On the one hand, the need for better coordination and integration of fragmented policies is frequently expressed. On the other hand, little has been achieved in terms of policy integration despite several initiatives. Drawing on fifty semistructured interviews with European forest policy makers and participatory observation, we assess, firstly, effects of and reasons for the disintegration paradox and, secondly, the strategic importance of distinct forest policy initiatives that are legitimized by the need for better policy integration. Our data demonstrate that the forest policy (dis)integration paradox can be explained by different factors, with economic interests and sectoral and institutional competition being most important. Under such circumstances, policy integration serves as frequently used rhetoric to consolidate sectoral interests; however, substance-wise, it is simply not happening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore how European and domestic factors have shaped environmental governance in the case of European Union biodiversity policy implementation in Bulgaria and Croatia. We argue that a ‘symbolic transformation’ of environmental governance in Bulgaria and Croatia has occurred, as the interplay between Europeanization and domestic politics has led to differential empowerment of state and non-state actors resulting in ineffective environmental governance. While proenvironment non-state groups (environmental non-governmental organizations, scientists) and European Union institutions were empowered in the phase of formal compliance, economic interest groups have held sway over the phase of practical (non-)compliance. At the same time, state actors have responded rationally to retain their power by adapting to opposing forces from above and below. We conclude by discussing the ‘symbolic transformation’ of environmental governance shifting between ‘command-and-control’ and ‘non-hierarchical’ coordination with regards to the transformative power of Europe in light of Europeanization research in old and new European Union member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance of the public sector is at the core of long-term wealth creation and welfare improvement. Yet, its measurement remains inadequate and flawed with data deficiency. In this paper we propose an extended framework for the assessment of public services performance that accounts for long-term impacts on welfare and empirically evaluate it across twenty-five European countries on the basis of a wide set of proxy indicators. We relate the performance scores to input costs indices and propose a coherent typology of countries that corresponds to the patterns of economic effectiveness of public services. The empirical analysis reveals that, because of differences in input costs across the enlarged EU, the economic effectiveness of public services varies to a much larger extent than the performance, with some relatively large-sized governments (Sweden, Denmark, Austria) being the most effective ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a bivariate probit model to control for selective access to employment, with this paper I aim to see whether, as expected by theory, migration lowers the problem of overeducation and gender division raises it, paying particular attention to the role of the proximity, interactions, and externalities of the various regions in the EU. The results show that workers with low probability of employment run a high risk of overeducation when they find a job. However, the results do not show evidence that male immigrants run a lower risk of overeducation than others. Highly educated people are more likely to migrate within a country not only to achieve better career prospects and greater employment opportunities but also to reduce the propensity for overeducation. The economic development and educational endowment of the region where a worker lives can explain the risk of overeducation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that mainstreaming of climate change into existing EU sectoral policies is a key aim, empirical knowledge of how it works in practice remains scarce. With this paper we explore the degree to which climate considerations are taken into account in the implementation of one of the most influential pieces of European water legislation, the Water Framework Directive and, more importantly, we assess possible explanations for the geographical variability in levels of mainstreaming observed. Our empirical research is based on an analysis of both EU and local policy documents, as well as more than forty in-depth interviews, and shows that, for various reasons, the degree of mainstreaming that has taken place differs widely. We conclude that timely incentives and clear guidance will be necessary to ensure progress is made by all, but that a residual fear that the adaptation agenda is open to abuse by those seeking to rationalise failures to fully implement the Water Framework Directive has put a brake on the mainstreaming agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this paper we analyse and assess the role of the European Union (EU) in the governance of migration linked to environmental change. We trace the emergence of migration linked to environmental change as an issue on the EU agenda and examine both issue definition and the institutional location of EU responses. The EU is identified as a particularly significant potential actor in the broader debate about environmental change and migration, as it is the world's most developed form of regionalised supranational governance with responsibilities in the areas of both environmental and migration policy, albeit with little connection made, as yet, between the two. We show that the relationship between migration and environmental change emerged as an issue for the EU's foreign policy community before becoming part of the EU's 'Global Approach to Migration and Mobility'. We argue that there is a compelling argument for consideration of migration and environmental change in the context of adaptation and development policies, as well as broader debate and contestation of the meaning of these policies. This involves a rethink of some of the precepts and practices informing EU migration and asylum policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this paper I aim at refining the understanding of mechanisms of postaccession Europeanisation in the new member states by investigating the impact of EU cohesion policy on the Polish subnational policy actors involved in its implementation. Drawing on recent empirical evidence on the influence of EU cohesion policy in three areas-- administrative capacity, strategic planning, and governance--I show that adjustment to the EU cohesion policy norms initially tends to be stimulated by cost-benefit calculation or constraint, which may involve 'shallow' adjustment. However, the study also reveals that over time, provided that EU-imported norms are in line with the actors' preferences, socialisation and learning mechanisms become more prominent. Moreover, I demonstrate that the subnational impact of EU cohesion policy remains uneven and differentiated depending on the actors' preferences, attitudes, and capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this paper I seek to identify the conditions under which a shift occurs from hierarchical decision making towards new modes of environmental governance in a case of weak statehood (Bosnia-Herzegovina), where an external agency (the EU) exerts significant influence alongside foreign consultants and international financial institutions (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development--EBRD). The Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) undertaken as part of the development of the trans-European road network across the country are used here as case studies for examining emerging patterns of environmental governance in a state under the shadow of EU conditionality. The data suggest that whilst over a period of time the adoption of new EU-compliant formal procedures and frameworks (eg, EIA laws) does seem to be generating new modes of governance interaction and citizen involvement, the impact is contingent upon the critical didactic role played by (in this case) the EBRD in making the formal procedures effective and in building knowledge capacity within the state administration. Thus, a simple correlation between EU conditionality and substantive political change cannot be assumed, particularly where state agencies possess limited policy knowledge and nonstate actors (environmental NGOs) lack mobilisation capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper territoriality is studied in the context of contemporary spatial development theories and practices in the European Union (EU). Primarily, territoriality is examined as a strategy for governing spatial development, and the focus is on the relationships between different modes of territoriality and governing. Territoriality is conceptualized bounded, networked, and fluid territory, and this is indicated in practice with examples of regional development zones (RDZs) in Finland. Potentially, RDZs could be tools to link the current territorial concepts of EU spatial development and poststructuralist spatial planning theories into practices for governing spatial development. Fluid territories—characterized by flexible boundaries, policy integration, and 'governance of governance'—emerge in spatial development theories and strategies. However, it is challenging to find proper tools for implementing them in practice. A broader consideration of agency, participation, and bottom-up development are crucial for fluid territory and its governing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we investigate the impact of the implementation of EU programmes on substate actors, and more specifically regional ones. We focus on the case of the INTERREG cross-border initiative in France and Spain between 2000 and 2003, and whether INTERREG succeeded in empowering regional governments and local authorities as it initially claimed to. Our analysis puts to the fore that this programme has not evolved from being 'a policy for the regions to a policy by the regions' as many expected, but that its implementation rather reveals a wide range of configurations. Indeed, the execution of INTERREG facilitated the transition from a state-centric scheme to a regionalised one only in those territories where a previous decentralisation policy had been realised at the domestic level and where a consistent regional leadership had emerged during earlier versions of INTERREG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial concentration of socioeconomic disadvantage as a result of discriminatory practices presents a challenging scenario for policy intervention. In this paper I examine the European Union (EU) social exclusion approach in addressing socioeconomic disadvantage in deprived urban areas, I look at the Greek city of Komotini, a society fragmented along ethnic lines. I focus on the Turkish minority community and explore the creation of local governance structures aiming at tackling exclusion through enhanced participation in decision making. The concept of citizenship rights that guided local `exclusion' policies exposes the differences in the de jure and the de facto rights of different groups in the city. The governance mode of participation, however, puts emphasis on coordination and consensus at the expense of local realities. EU participatory principles that take local networking dynamics for granted do not travel well in centralized governance frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we seek to advance current understanding of uneven convergence in the context of EU environmental policy, and specifically, the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). Using a large-sample, quantitative methodology, we examine three broad sets of determinants hypothesised to influence geographic patterns of policy convergence: (1) cross-national market integration; (2) compatibility between the domestic regulatory context and European policy requirements; and (3) bottom-up pressure from market and societal actors. Our analysis provides empirical support for all three hypothesised determinants. Measures of import-export ties, regulatory burden, past policy adoptions, environmental demand from civil society, and levels of economic productivity are all found to be statistically significant predictors of national EMAS counts. Against a backdrop of geographically diverse regulatory institutions, societal conditions, and trading relationships, we conclude that unevenness is an inevitable feature of Europeanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farming enterprises throughout the European Union have traditionally been treated very differently by the state compared with their nonagricultural counterparts. Agricultural activities have been governed by a separate set of policy objectives, political institutions, and support agencies. However, this agricultural 'exceptionalism' is being steadily eroded as markets are partially liberalised, farmers are encouraged to pursue new forms of economic activity, and as government institutions are reformed. Farmers are being encouraged to see themselves as 'entrepreneurs' to face fundamentally changed markets. There is, therefore, renewed attention to the existing levels of generic business skills within the farming sector and to the nature and effectiveness of business advice and support frameworks in enhancing these skills. The paper investigates the extent to which farmers have experienced different patterns of business support use and perceive themselves as having different generic skills needs in comparison with other rural microbusinesses and considers the attractiveness of different models of delivering business advice to the sector. A review is undertaken of the evolution of rural business support in England together with an analysis of data from a survey of almost 1800 rural microbusinesses in the northeast of England. It is concluded that there are a number of significant challenges facing the adjustment of the farm sector towards a more entrepreneurial model of business development arising from the sector's legacy of separation and exceptionalism within the support framework. In order to help encourage the development of generic business skills an 'intermediary' model of business advice is advocated, in which an intermediary agency acts as a bridge between farms and generic business support providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]