From Conditionality to Europeanization in Central and Eastern Europe: Administrative Performance and Capacity in Cohesion Policy

Abstract

This article assesses the role of administrative capacity in explaining the performance of eight Central and Eastern European countries in managing Cohesion policy over the 2004–2008 period. Drawing on a conceptual framework from the Europeanization literature, it explores whether pre-accession administrative adjustment to comply with the “acquis” continued in the post-accession period, against a backdrop of critical assessments about the state of administrative capacity for managing Cohesion policy. We conclude that administrative capacity was developed faster and more substantially than commentators predicted. The findings have implications for our understanding of the post-accession compliance record of the EU8, challenging the contention that they fall within a “world of dead letters”. Administrative capacity has been underestimated and insufficient attention has been given to the dynamics of capacity evolution and learning.     

Environmental Aid to Eastern Europe: Swedish and Estonian Perspectives

This study examines the Swedish and Estonian publics' views on Eastern Europe's environmental problems and on providing and receiving environmental aid. It utilizes a series of research techniques: a random telephone survey in Sweden, person-to-person interviews in Estonia, a content analysis of Sweden's largest newspaper, and interviews with policymakers in both countries. Both the Swedish and Estonian publics are more concerned about local, rather than transboundary, environmental problems. The majority of respondents in the Swedish sample supported giving environmental aid for altruistic reasons, whereas the majority of the Estonian respondents saw the environmental aid as essential to fund environmental improvements in their own county. 7 tables, 33 references.