Implications of the Europeanization in trans-sectoral environmental policy areas. Case study: forestry-nature conservation

Abstract

The European Union is usually described as an "unfinished state", which is characterized by a remarkable complexity. In this system, sectoral policies come up through spillover effects and can be distinguished through the character of a prevailing federation or a regional–dependent regime. In these terms, one can describe the EU policies and moreover the trans–sectoral environmental policy areas, which can present a special interest in policy–analysis, because of their complexity and properties. Such one is the area Forestry–Nature Conservation, which is illustrated in a properly selected case study ("Natura 2000" program). The EU policy–making is discussed. The supranational, transnational and national interplay between forest and environmental groups as well as between them and public actors is analyzed. General hypotheses are posed about trans–sectoral networks and power factors, which allow an actor to enter a network (or not).