The underlying study was written in the context of a broader research project on ‘European Integration and the Transformation of the State’ which was funded under the Leibniz Programme of the German Science Foundation (DFG) and conducted by Adrienne Héritier. I am particularly grateful to Adrienne not only for her continuous support and encouragement, but also for providing me with the great opportunity to carry out my work at three of Europe's ‘finest addresses’ in political and social science: the University of Bielefeld; the Max-Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne; and the European University Institute in Florence.

I am also particularly indebted to Yves Mény. It was on the basis of his initiative that I was able to carry out a research project on ‘The Impact of National Administrative Traditions on the Implementation of EU Environmental Policy’ at the Robert-Schuman Centre of the European University Institute. This project, which was financed by the European Commission, is of major theoretical and empirical relevance for the underlying study. I am grateful to Yves for the provision of administrative and logistical support through the Robert-Schuman Centre as well as his scientific commitment to the project and his continuous advice. Furthermore, I want to express my particular thanks to Roland Czada, the director of the Institute of Political Science at the University of Hagen.