Part IV of this book presents a policy study on the effects of Europeanization on environmental policy-making in Germany and Spain. The previous two empirical parts (Parts II and III) were set up to systematically test my hypotheses on Europeanization and domestic change by comparing the institutions of two member states. This final empirical part shows how my general line of argument applies to a particular policy area. The policy study allows us to explore on a more concrete level to what extent Europeanization causes an uneven distribution of “say and pay” in European policy-making, thereby producing significant costs of adaptation for the regions of decentralized member states. It demonstrates how the different strategies, which the German and the Spanish regions have chosen in order to reduce costs, have given rise to flexible adjustment and reinforcement in Germany and institutional transformation in Spain.

Environmental policy-making was chosen for this policy study because it is a highly Europeanized policy area. There is a rich and growing body of European environmental legislation which penetrates all sectors of national regulation (cf. Johnson and Corcelle 1995). Environmental policies are increasingly formulated and determined at the European level. But subordinate levels are the main implementers of these policies. In highly decentralized states, the regions not only have administrative but often also legislative implementation competencies.