"Convergence of national governance under European integration? The case of packaging waste"

Haverland, Markus. (1997) "Convergence of national governance under European integration? The case of packaging waste". In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 1997 (5th), May 29-June 1, 1997, pages 25, Seattle, WA.

Abstract

This paper traces the development of packaging waste policies in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The aim is to add another case study to the general debate about the question whether national modes of governance converge due to European integration. The issue of packaging and the environment was chosen because a) member states differed significantly in their national approaches to govern this problem in early 1990, and b) a European packaging directive was adopted in 1994 to harmonise national policies while securing a high level of environmental protection. The findings reveal a mixed picture of convergence and persisting diversity. Due to EC case law a convergence towards the German legalistic approach took place. Policy targets, however, are still quite diverse, since the institutional logic of EU decision making favours exemptions, i.e. it enables the "greener" minority to pursue higher targets than agreed on. Diversity also continued to persist with regard to the distribution of responsibilities in waste management. Due to policy-oriented learning, local authorities play an important role in the UK and the Netherlands, while Germany is forced by path dependency (sunk costs) to stick to a private waste collection system, despite heavy criticism. The convergence towards a more legalistic mode of governance clashed with environmental policy traditions in the UK and the Netherlands. It matched and reinforced, however, recent developments in the national approaches of waste and environmental policymaking in these two countries.