Europeanization and Reform of Domestic Public Policies. The Case of Greece in Environmental Policy

The policies of the Member States of the European Union (EU) are in a continuous evolution following changes at national and European level. Greece is also in a process of continuous change and reform in various policy areas. One of these is environmental policy, which is one of the most regulated policies at EU level. As a result, it presents high levels of Europeanization and, at the same time, it has a significant impact at national level. The aim of this study is to introduce some of the most recent theories of Europeanization with the aim of a more in-depth understanding, explanation, and classification of the changes and related problems observed in the different fields of public policy. Furthermore, the evolution of environmental policy in Greece is presented in order to examine the influence of Europeanization theories on the Greek case. The methodology followed is qualitative and based on content analysis of documents related to the public policies described. The findings highlight that national mediators reveal dysfunctions in environmental policies in Greece. Political institutional capacity for change is slow, due to entrenched power relations and the fact that environmental protection does not appear to be a priority. However, the findings show a gradual increase in the implementation of environmental policies in Greece and a corresponding convergence with the policies of other EU countries. The contribution of this study consists in determining whether environmental policies in Greece are influenced by Europeanization and whether they converge with those of other Member States.