German agri-environmental schemes — I. A preliminary review

This paper gives a preliminary review of German agri-environmental schemes (including the new Länder). The focus is less on participation rates for individual schemes, but on the analysis of how Germany and the individual Länder are interpreting EU environmental directives. The number, type and specific regulations of schemes offered in each of the German states is discussed, and the German situation is compared with the wider European setting. In contrast to the majority of EU countries, environmental policy for the German countryside is dominated by regionally based programmes, suggesting the operation of the ‘regional filter’ for agri-environmental schemes. The Länder have a significant role to play in the development, financing and administration of agri-environmental schemes.     

Environmental Sustainability and Tourism in European Policy-making

The paper analyses decision-making in the field of European environmental regulation and examines the implications for tourist policy. It is argued that European Union (EU) environmental policy is influenced by three factors: (1) the EU bureaucracy is interested in expanding its influence and power vis-à-vis national bureaucracies and polities; (2) Northern European countries have selectively recruited regulators with environmentally sympathetic ideologies; and (3) a pro-environmental attitude contributes to the societal legitimation of business. These considerations give a unique character to environmental policy-making, which over time has tended to spill over to thematically connected areas, including to tourism policy.     

Impact assessment of the EU structural funds to support regional economic development in rural areas of Germany

Rural areas in Germany have been subject to major structural changes in agriculture and other economic sectors due to the combined effects of CAP reform and socio-economic adjustments resulting from German reunification. By comparing the different approaches to assistance for rural economic development in the two groups of rural areas the paper will focus on the following topics: analysis of initial conditions with respect to agricultural, demographic and economic indicators; design of the delivery system for financial assistance with regard to strategic aims and the policy mix of the programmes; organizational and operational aspects of the required system for monitoring and evaluation of operations according to EU regulations; indication of intended and immediate impacts of some measures, e.g. changing conditions on the labour markets in different types of rural areas. Conclusions will be drawn from comparison of observable changes based on experiences with impact assessment and evaluation of support schemes in the two different types of rural areas during the current phase 1989–1993 with a view to the next phase of the reform of the EU structural funds 1994–1999.     

EU rural development policy in the new member states: Promoting multifunctionality?

European Union (EU) enlargement has seen 10 new member states (NMS) adopt the full range of EU policies. Within this, the rural development arm of the Common Agricultural Policy offers particular points of interest. Member states chose from an extensive list of policy measures developed within the EU15 and intended, in particular, to operationalise the concept of rural multifunctionality within the ongoing CAP reform process. This paper identifies the rural development policy choices made by the eight central and eastern European NMS and develops a taxonomy to ascertain the extent to which the NMS are directing public funds to promote multifunctionality. A number of factors are then identified as helping to influence the policy choices made across countries.     

Framing an EU Level Regularization Mechanism: Mission Impossible?

European Union Member States have so far tackled the problem of irregular migration in Europe by adopting common policies which aim to prevent irregular arrivals on the EU borders. In their EU‐level policies, they have neglected regularization as an alternative EU‐level policy addressing irregular migration. This represents a contrast to regularizations which are performed by many EU Member States. However, the EU Commission has gradually adopted a more positive stance about regularization. This article will discuss the principles of an EU‐level regularization scheme through the analysis of the Commission's ideas on the issue. It will be argued that, rather than adopting a common policy, the flexible set of measures, which guide Member States in formulating regularization mechanism for protection/humanitarian reasons, can be formulated at the EU level.     

Roll-out neoliberalism and hybrid practices of regulation in Australian agri-environmental governance

In the last 15 years, agri-environmental programmes in Australia have been underpinned by a neoliberal regime of governing which seeks to foster participation and ‘bottom-up’ change at the regional level at the same time as encouraging farmers to become entrepreneurial and improve their productivity and environmental performance without government interference. However, while experiencing a degree of success in terms of farmer involvement, considerable tensions are evident in such programmes. Drawing on an ‘analytics of governmentality’, this paper argues that while current agri-environmental programmes enable authorities to combine often competing and contradictory imperatives under the rubric of single political problems—what has been termed hybrid forms of governing—it also contributes to the continuing failure of these programmes to achieve their desired effects. As a consequence, neoliberal forms of governing tend to be characterised by experimentation with a range of governmental technologies in order to make programmes workable in practice. We explore two different types of technologies—standards schemes and direct government regulation—that have emerged in recent years, and how these have sought to address the limitations evident in ‘participatory’ programmes. The paper concludes by arguing that while these initiatives seek to encourage farmer compliance in seemingly divergent ways, their capacity to be workable, and have broader effects, in practice will depend upon their capacity to manage the competing imperatives of environmental degradation, capital accumulation and private property rights.     

Equality Machineries Matter: The Impact of Women's Political Pressure on European Social-Care Policies

This study examines the impact of feminist pressure and EuropeanUnion (EU) policies on national policy changes, such as theintroduction or extension of public childcare provision, parentalleave, and part-time work legislation. We compared six countrieson the basis of Qualitative Comparative Analysis and found thatwomen's political pressure, especially through national equalitymachinery, is a prerequisite for the emergence and extensionof social-care policies. Sequence analysis showed that nationalmachineries are crucial in translating EU measures into nationalpolicies.     

Contesting the neoliberal project for agriculture: Productivist and multifunctional trajectories in the European Union and Australia

The liberalisation of agricultural trade is strongly contested as an international policy project. In the context of the current World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha trade round, concerns revolve around the implications of freer trade for rural livelihoods and environments. Analysis of this complex and morally charged issue offers important insights into the nature of resistance to the neoliberal agenda. This resistance has been expressed in terms of perceived threats to the ‘multifunctionality’ of agriculture and its ability to provide public environmental and social benefits. We focus specifically on Australia and the European Union (EU), key players in the WTO process but diametrically opposed in their embrace of, or resistance to, agricultural neoliberalisation. While the EU has sought to maintain trade barriers in order to protect both marginal areas and the market advantages derived from a heavily-subsidised, productivist agriculture, Australia relies on ‘competitive productivism’ – unsubsidised, highly productive agriculture – to win markets. There is nevertheless evidence that the compatibility of market rule with agri-environmental (and, to a lesser extent, social) sustainability is being contested in both Australia and the EU, particularly at the regional scale. The nature and terms of this contestation are different, however, given the radically divergent macro-economic and socio-political contexts in which it is being framed. The debate about the socio-environmental implications of market opening within the agriculturally protectionist environment of the EU is largely anticipatory and risk-averting, while in the already market-exposed Australian context it is increasingly compensatory and harm-minimising. In this paper, we argue that neoliberalisation as a policy agenda is reshaped in different states and regions through processes of resistance and accommodation arising from particular geographical, historical, political and institutional contexts, and as a response to crises.     

Recruiting the new conservationists: Farmers' adoption of agri-environmental schemes in the U.K.

Financial incentives available to farmers under the Government's relaunched agri-environmental policy (AEP) promise to recruit more farmers into conservation schemes than ever before. The success of these voluntary schemes, which offer payments in return for farmers agreeing to desist from certain damaging operations or carry out environmentally sensitive ones, is widely proclaimed, chiefly with reference to the promising levels of enrolment that have already been achieved under the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) programme. Increasingly, however, attention is focusing on the environmental benefits that are being achieved on the ground and their longer-term durability. This paper reports on a survey of 101 farmers in South East England conducted with a view to investigating the level of engagement of those currently enrolled in such schemes. Focusing on the motivational aspects, it points to wide variations in the level of commitment and sympathy with the wider objectives of AEP schemes and places farmers on a participation spectrum ranging from the most resistant non-adopters at one end to the most active adopters at the other. The policy implications of this categorisation are explored and recommendations made for pushing more farmers towards the active end of the spectrum.     

A Review of Kyoto Protocol Adoption in Russia: Joint Implementation in Focus

Russia’s role in ‘animation’ of the Kyoto Protocol was crucial. Its initial vacillation on ratification was predominantly due to political bargaining with the EU. Domestic economic rationales [i.e. impacts of emission trading and Joint Implementation (JI) projects] were important to a much lesser extent and environmental motives did not seem to play any role in the decision. Since the Protocol entered into force, there have been significant delays in complete establishment of policy implementation frameworks, which are necessary for Russia to start benefiting from JI and emission trading. Only recently, in 2007, have GHG inventories and a national registry been established and the responsibilities for implementation of the Protocol and JI among the government departments have been distributed only to a certain extent. Some constraints hindering JI projects, such as vague legislation, an unfavourable economic climate, lack of commitment to JI projects, corruption, xenophobia, state and agency ‘capture’ still remain.      

Building the Capacity to Play on Multilevel Policy Processes: French Environmental Movement Organisations and the European Union

The European Union (EU) is a relevant case to address the dynamics of transnational politics, given the significance of the EU environmental legislation in member states. Infranational, national and supranational/EU decision-making arenas still co-exist, without completely overlapping. This study explores how the multilevel nature of the EU policy-making process is exploited by national environmental movement organisations (EMOs). Diverging from the explanation in terms of political opportunity structure or their resource basis, we examine EMOs that do not automatically adapt to the EU multilevel policy process. The discussion takes up the classic debate between grievances (intentionality) and resources (capacity) hypothesising that both are constructed in EMOs' actions and through their interactions with public authorities, allies and members. Within the analytical framework developed in this study, the organisation is viewed as a factor explaining EU activism by combining an endogenous action approach with classical resource mobilisation concepts. The ensuing longitudinal analysis compares the case of three French EMOs: France-Nature-Environnement, Friends of the Earth-France and Greenpeace-France.     

Politics,Not Economic Interests: Determinants of Migration Policies in the European Union1

In this article we examine the determinants of European Union (EU) migration policies. We look at the passage of six pieces of migration and immigrant integration legislation in the fifth European Parliament (1999–2004). Based on the sixty‐one roll‐call votes on these bills we create a “migration score” for each Member of the European Parliament. We then use regression analysis to investigate the determinants of these scores. We find that the strongest determinants of policy outcomes on migration issues in this arena are the left‐right preferences of EU legislators. These are stronger predictors than the economic preferences of national parties’ constituents or the economic interests or political preferences of the member states.     

Co-construction of agency and environmental management. The case of agri-environmental policy implementation at Finnish farms

One of the main challenges of European environmental policies is to recruit local-level actors to fulfil set targets. This article explores how targets of European agri-environmental policy have been achieved in Finland. It also analyses how implementation practices produce conditions for agri-environmental management and how policy success—or sustainability in general—relates to the different actors’ capacities to act. It is argued that we need to adopt a relational view in order to analyse the success and outcome of agri-environmental policy. This article assesses the ways in which the actor-network theory could contribute to this discussion by a notion of co-construction of agency. The empirical part of the article follows farmers’ sociologies. The practices and conceptualisations through which the policy goals are translated into farming practices are analysed, and it is shown how different forms of knowledge have become relevant stakes in the politics of agri-environmental management. It is argued, that the notion of co-construction of agency will help to open up the translation process and scaling between local and universal knowledge. Most importantly, it reveals the different forms of resistance deriving from farming practices. Finally the challenges that the notion of co-construction of agency poses for the agri-environmental policy are discussed.     

Labor policy in the EU: The new emphasis on education and training under the treaty of Amsterdam

Labor market policy in the EU is seemingly a rather different animal today than heretofore because of the belated recognition that healthy employment development is the precondition for achieving fair and decent social and working standards. The pursuit of often ambitious mandatory labor standards appears to have been downplayed, and the notion of coordination to have superceded harmonization. The new means of coordination (via national employment plans) is benchmarking, identifying best-practice measures in employment policy, and offering encouragement to member states to progressively develop their own policies in this light. The presumed goal is to secure meaningful common action in the context of institutional diversity in national labor markets —the perennial problem in EU social policy formation. I review the new employment strategy with special reference to its education and training components ajid in the process question whether recent developments presage a sea change in the evolution of Community labor policy. ” If I were to set the process of uniting Europe in motion once more, I would start with education.” (Jean Monnet) This is a revised version of a paper presented at the First Biennial Conference of the Hong Kong Economic Association, Hong Kong, December 16, 2000.     

Attitudes to agricultural policy and farming futures in the context of the 2003 CAP reform: A comparison of farmers in selected established and new Member States

Farmers’ attitudes, to agricultural production, diversification and policy support, and behavioural intentions in five Member States of the EU (France, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, England) are analysed comparatively. Groups of farmers with similarly held attitudes are identified using cluster analysis to investigate whether differences in attitudes are defined predominately according to national, east–west, size or other criteria. The results highlight that the vast majority of farmers in the enlarged EU retain a productivist mindset, wish to maintain an agricultural focus and strongly reject notions of policy liberalisation. However, while the overwhelming majority advocate protection they are more receptive to greater flexibility in terms of the instruments through which policy support may be delivered. Overall, the strongest opposition to policy liberalisation comes from farmers in the New Member States of the EU.     

How to Overcome Deadlock in EU Immigration Politics

Immigration policy is a very unlikely case for EU integration. EU policy‐making is constrained by member states' sovereignty claims and interest heterogeneity. Still, tentative integration towards EU conditions of entry and residence for some immigrant categories can be observed. By using the example of the skilled labour migration directive, the article explains how deadlock in policy‐making was overcome. It explores the factors that led to agreement in the EU immigration policy area, from the Commission's first proposal on labour migration in 2001 to its adoption in 2009. Explanations for integration in the policy area are member states' venue shopping the EU level for changing domestic legislation, their interest in locking‐in national standards in EU law, and the EU Commission's agenda‐framing. Strategic partitioning of policy was also used by actors to overcome deadlock in policy‐making. The reframing of policies, by reducing their scope to a few narrowly defined immigrant categories, influenced their adoption. This mechanism was observed in studying the eight years of policy‐making leading to the labour migration directive. The longitudinal analysis helps to identify the key dynamics that define this nascent EU policy area.     

Farm-level constraints on agri-environmental scheme participation: a transactional perspective

Voluntary agri-environmental schemes based on management agreements characterise much agri-environmental policy across the EU at present, and have expanded following the implementation of Regulation 2078/92 in all member states. Schemes generally motivate individual farmers to contract with government agencies to produce countryside goods in return for compensatory payments. Hence, farmers’ decisions to participate are central to achieving policy objectives. An enhanced understanding of farmers’ attitudes to and perceptions of schemes and their implementation would be of value for policy development. Recent transactions-cost research has observed that such schemes involve potentially heavy transactions costs, for both the state and farmers. In addition to reducing scheme cost-effectiveness, the transactions costs incurred by farmers can form a significant constraint on participation in schemes, with adverse effects on the supply of conservation goods. This paper considers behavioural and transactional perspectives on scheme participation. Some new data on the transactional burdens experienced by farmers when participating in schemes is examined from the perspective of identifying ways to improve policy transacting to ease constraints on participation where these exist. At the level of the individual participant, the development of agri-environmental one-stop-shops in member states for all schemes would allow transactions-cost economies, saving on the overhead costs of applying to different schemes with different objectives, as well as allowing a more integrated, less confused approach to participation. The longer-term value of farmer networks and capacity-building for agri-environmental management is important too.     

Exploring the social benefits of agri-environment schemes in England

Recent decades have seen sustainable development emerging as a core concern of European Union (EU) policy. In order to consider how policies can contribute more positively to the goals of sustainable development, major EU policies must undergo an assessment of their potential economic, environmental and social impacts. Within the agri-environment sector, this is reflected in the increasing requirement for EU Members States to monitor and evaluate the socio-economic as well as the environmental and agricultural impacts of their agri-environment programmes. Whilst some research has looked at the more easily quantifiable economic impacts of agri-environment schemes (AES), there is a paucity of research exploring the social dimensions. In this paper, four areas where social impacts of AES can be assessed are suggested: namely impact on on-farm employment; income security; human capital through skills and training development; and social capital development through extension of knowledge networks and flows. These areas are explored in detail using the results of a survey of Environmental Stewardship schemes in England. The results show that the level of social benefit is differentiated by scheme and farm type. The more demanding Higher Level Stewardship schemes help to develop human capital and increase networks, and dairy farmers in particularly have extended their advisory networks in order to participate in AES. The paper concludes that through the exploration of the social impact of AES it may be possible to identify ways to more closely link social and environmental stewardship objectives and thereby contribute to sustainable agriculture.     

Public preferences for landscape features: A case study of two Scottish environmentally sensitive areas

This paper examines the extent to which the menu of environmental features supported by public policy in two Scottish environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) and the range of environmental products supported by farmers who have participated in the scheme are congruent with public preferences. The examination of public preferences was based on a sample survey of residents and visitors to the Loch Lomond and Stewartry ESAs and the Scottish general public. This sample was split, with one group being asked questions relating to their valuation of a range of environmental features, and the second group being asked about their preferred level of future provision of the same set of features. The results indicate that the features most widely adopted by farmers and which have been very costly to support are amongst those least desired by the visitors to the areas and the general public. Consequently, it might be asserted that a changed menu of supported environmental actions in ESAs would be likely to deliver higher levels of social benefits.