"More power to experts? The Swedish environmental protection agency, the Chemicals Inspectorate and Europeanization"

Kronsell, Annica. (2001) "More power to experts? The Swedish environmental protection agency, the Chemicals Inspectorate and Europeanization" . In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2001 (7th), May 31-June 2, 2001, pages 22, Madison, Wisconsin.

Abstract

This paper starts from an interest in the role played by national administrations in the EU integration process. Here, I will consider the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Chemicals Inspectorate. Since Sweden became an EU member only recently, in 1995, the agencies were entrusted with the transposition of an already existing broad range of EU environmental legislation. Considerable domestic transformation has followed both in polity and policy. The process has highlighted the differences between member state administrations, differences in terms of administrative autonomy, policy styles and procedures that tend to impact the policy outcome at national, regional and local levels. Simultaneously, the EU environmental policy process has opened up new spaces and created opportunities for these agencies to act on a new arena. The paper suggests that the civil servants have come to play an increasingly important role in the EU policymaking process and as a result these experts have gained considerable influence. The same process has restricted the Agencies' possibilities to act in the domestic arena as well as tend to centralize power in the hands of government and the ministries at what appears to be the expense of broad parliamentary and interest group involvement.