Transnational politics of the environment: Regional integration and environmental policies in Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland)

This dissertation examines the influence of European Union (EU) integration on the environmental policies of East European states. I argue that regional markets and institutions affect the politics of the environment in Eastern Europe by exerting a strong and differential impact on the environmental interests of regulated industries. Export-competitive sectors and multinational firms adjust their environmental preferences to support regulatory harmonization, which facilitates integration and access to EU markets. By contrast, non-competitive sectors and firms that are not integrated in the international economy remain opposed to greater openness and the adoption of EU standards. The change in domestic environmental interests under the impact of integration, in turn, helps us account for the surprisingly fast adoption of environmental standards that affect export-competitive sectors and the uneven reform of environmental policies. Case studies of chemical safety and air pollution regulations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Poland provide strong evidence in support of the theoretical argument. The export-oriented chemical industries in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Poland have changed their environmental strategies to promote rapid compliance with EU chemical standards in the three states. The adoption of EU air pollution standards, on the other hand, while influenced by international commitments, has proceeded more slowly, under considerable opposition by the electricity industry and with variable success across countries.