ADAPT 5th Framework Programme
KEY ACTION: Improving the socio-economic knowledge base
THEMATIC SESSION 5: Governance, citizenship and enlargement
SUB-THEME 3: Challenges of Enlargement
CALL IDENTIFIER: IHP-KA1-00-1
PROPOSAL No: SERD-2000-00152
CONTRACT No: HPSE-CT2001-00097
'EU Enlargement and Multi-Level Governance in European Regional and Environment Policies: Patterns of Learning, Adaptation and Europeanization Among Cohesion Countries (Greece, Ireland and Portugal) and Lessons for New Members (Hungary and Poland)'.
Aims of the Project
This research project focuses on facilitating the adaptation process of the prospective new member states of the EU (CEECs-Hungary, Poland) to the multi-level system of governance in the regional and environment policy areas. It does so by conceptualizing learning, institutional and policy adaptation in the selected policy areas within the EU system of governance and by drawing lessons from the experience of previous enlargement waves' - Cohesion- countries (Ireland, Portugal, Greece).
Hence, the main goal of the project is twofold: first, to evaluate, on a comparative basis, the impact of Europeanization of public policy on the governance structures of the three traditionally unitary nation states of the EU and their response, in terms of learning and adaptation, to the European environment in the regional and environment policies; and second, to utilize this research outcome in identifying the appropriate reforms that the new member states, and in particular Poland and Hungary, should undertake, in order to facilitate the adaptation and adjustment of their public policy (administrative and governance) structures to the -new- European environment in the selected policy areas.
Project Description
The project comprises three main components: theoretical, empirical and conceptual.
The theoretical part explores the academic and political debate on the EU multi-level system of governance in public policy in general and in the regional and environment policies in particular. This will provide a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding possible differentiation in the transformation of governance structures between the three Cohesion countries (Ireland, Greece and Portugal) and the CEECs (Poland and Hungary). A workshop to be organized in March 2002 will aim at raising further topics and questions related to the theoretical framework of the project which may not have been already addressed in the debate on the EU multi-level system of governance.
The empirical part of the project involves comparative case studies in the selected policy areas in all participating Cohesion and CEE countries. Based on the empirical findings the research will: first, identify the possible differentiation in learning, adaptation and Europeanization processes among the three Cohesion countries; second, explore the possibly emerging different patterns in the transformation of their governance structures (patterns of multi-level governance); third, model the appropriate reforms that the Polish and Hungarian systems of public policy-making should adopt, if their capacity for learning and adaptation to the European environment is to be improved.
Finally, the conceptual part will concentrate on conceptualising a new governance paradigm that fosters learning and adaptation processes in EU public policy.
Methodology
The methodology will be based on comparative public policy research focusing on measuring the impact of the Europeanization process on domestic institutional structures and systems of governance. It will involve quantitative and qualitative analysis of a wide range of socio-economic data of the relevant case studies, analysis of official and unofficial documents related to the selected policies and the participating countries and Social Network Analysis (SNA).
First, the measuring of adaptation will be based on the creation of a database with high quality socio-economic data referring to the national and sub-national levels of government of the three Cohesion countries, Poland and Hungary, as well as, qualitative and quantitative analyses of this data.
Second, to evaluate the way in which the interactions between the Europeanization of public policy on the one hand and the capacity for learning and adaptation of the domestic institutional structures in the three Cohesion countries on the other have influenced the transformation of the systems of governance, a two-stage approach has been adopted: first, carrying out social network analysis; and second, identifying the strength of civil society. The same research tools will be used for analysing the structures of public policy in Poland and Hungary.
Finally, the empirical evidence from the three Cohesion countries, Poland and Hungary will be assessed on a comparative basis for modelling the restructuring process in the two CEE countries and for identifying the appropriate governance scheme for facilitating learning and adaptation within the multi-level structure of governance in EU public policy.
Expected outcomes
The results of the research project will constitute an important contribution to the ongoing debate among academics, policy-makers and technocrats on the effectiveness and efficiency of the EU governance structures in crucial policy areas in two ways: first, by providing important policy-making tools for improving the levels of effectiveness and efficiency in the implementation of the EU regional and environment policies; and second, by facilitating the adaptation and adjustment of the governance structures of Poland and Hungary to the European environment and subsequently the process of enlargement towards the CEE countries.
In that sense, the outcomes of the research project will represent an important added value for the consortium as a whole, for the individual participants and for user groups.
The latter include the European Commission, the ministries responsible for regional and environment policies in the participating states, the relevant ministries of the other EU Cohesion countries and prospective members, as well as, the wider academic community in East and Western Europe. The publication of a volume on enlargement and multi-level governance in European regional and environment policies is expected to constitute a very important deliverable of the research project.