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An introduction to the journal is presented which discusses the associations between Europeanization and the evolution of environmental governance in the Western Balkans and South East Europe.

With this paper we depict a typology of regions, capturing the diversity of regional innovation systems (RISs) across the EU-25. Following the RIS literature, we select twenty-one variables related to the ability of a region to generate and absorb knowledge, and its capacity to transform research and development into innovation and economic growth. On the basis of the results of principal components and cluster analyses, we identify seven types of RIS where the 186 regions group together according to their sectoral specialisation, technological and economic capacity, and performance. By allowing us to identify similar and more advanced regions, the paper facilitates comparisons and benchmarking between similar regions, thus enabling more accurate policy learning. For each group a number of policy recommendations are suggested, contingent on their local specific characteristics. In short, the contribution of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it provides the first RIS typology for the EU-25 regions completed using a large number of variables. Secondly, the conclusions obtained from the analysis may be used to lead policy makers' actions in the field of regional innovation policy in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflects on the 25 years of environmental policy in the European Union (EU). Effort to prevent the European Economic Community from promoting unreconstructed economic growth; Concern on the integration of environmental considerations into other EU policies; Problems of enforcement agencies in bringing cases before the national courts.

Investigates why the issue of poor implementation was neglected during the first decade of environmental policy in the European Union. Responsibilities and interests of the regulators; Solutions to the gap between policy goals and outcomes; Difficulty in the complete eradication of implementation deficits.

Investigates the extent to which environmental integration principle is applied to the European Union's policies. Effect on the implementation of non-environmental policies; Determination of the levels of achieved integration with preexisting policy philosophies and institutional structures; Success in the use of defensive strategies in conjunction with legal pressure.

Explains paradoxes in the European Union's environmental policy. Infrequency of the use of economic instruments by the liberal policy regime; Dependence on members states in the development of government proposals; Regulation of the subnational environmental goods by the supranational political authority.

Investigates how theoretical approaches explain the task expansion witnessed in the European Union's environmental policy since the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Reasons for not relying solely on neofunctionalism; Conformity of the intergovernmentalist approach to national preferences; Limitations of the policy network framework.

Presents an essay discussing the historical evolution of the European Union's environmental policy. Creation of members states of an institutional entity; Focus of the policies on safeguarding health and removing internal barriers to trade in products; Changes made in preexisting environmental policies.