Policy change and learning: Implementing EU environmental policies affecting agriculture

Summary

This thesis aims to show whether and how the implementation of the EU environmental policy could be improved through policy learning. The results are based on two case studies: the development of agri-environmental policy in Finland and the implementation of the Water Framework Directive(WFD)in Ireland.
The institutional analysis shows that the institutional structures changed due to the membership: the formal structures changed almost overnight and, as a result of increased cross-sectoral cooperation and policy learning, the informal structures also changed.
The implementation of agri-environmental policy was studied in one administrative region, namely Uusimaa, located in southern Finland.
The adaptation of EU environmental policies is an interesting research topic, not only because of the policy process itself but also because of the actors and context involved.