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This thesis asks ‘what does Europeanisation mean for the strategies and practices of grassroots green groups in Europe?’ and aims to identify the conditions under which these groups become ‘europeanised’. I identify three process of europeanisation: direct europeanisation – when an actor connects directly to the EU, indirect europeanisation – when an actor connects to a europeanised member state and passive europeanisation – when actors europeanise outside of state mechanisms. The grassroots green movement has largely evaded studies of europeanisation and so it is through examining europeanisation at this ‘base’ level, closest to the citizens, that this research makes an original contribution to our understanding of the variables that mediate the process of europeanisation and to our understanding of grassroots green activism in Europe. This thesis takes its analytical framework from social movement theory and uses political opportunity structures and frames as domains in which it looks for evidence of europeanisation. Within these domains I distinguish between European and europeanised activity, teasing out the role of the nation state in mediating europeanisation at a grassroots level. Two cases are examined: anti-road protest and anti-GM protest in Britain, France and Italy between the period 2007-2010. This thesis demonstrates that there is some evidence of europeanisation within grassroots green groups. It encourages a more nuanced understanding of europeanisation as a process that can occur outside the state and amongst actors who do not seek to impact the EU. It finds that both strategic and ideological considerations shape the political opportunity structures to which movements direct themselves. It also finds that the fit between the frames used in protest and the national masterframes is a powerful variable in explaining the extent of social movement europeanisation.

This study looks at Switzerland as an example of Western-European nation states` strategic efforts to create migrant `integration` agendas, which attempt the convergence of different, largely statist economic interests. According to the Swiss Federal Government`s overarching agenda, education is a key arena for advancement of the `integration` of migrants in Swiss systems and society. I explore whether this statist strategy conceals and contains pre-existing power relations in relation to definitions of the ‘political membership’ of migrants. This study understands public policy as a carrier of shared ideas and ideologies transgressing national borders. It attempts to map the socio-political dimensions of policy discourses. ‘Dominant` discourses of neo-liberalism and New Public Management in education policy reform in Switzerland in 2008 are examined. The examination connects arguments related to `soft` governance in processes of Europeanisation and the emergence of a European shared space of education - in which Switzerland positions itself in particular ways - as policy through governance. It explores how this policy is referenced in a national normative context. I investigate the use of education standards drawn from comparative studies, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and how these are related to the migrant `integration` mandate of the Swiss Federal government and the Canton of Zurich education authorities specifically for education agenda-setting. The study engages with the `problematisation` of migrants in Swiss education discourses, (re-) triggering a national response which constructs, diffuses and institutionalises shared ideas of European policies within the logic of pre-existing normative ideologies about `migrants`, nation-building, `national identity`, `culture` and norms of political membership. I examine discourses in policy texts, media texts and policy actors` narratives, in order to map the framing of a structural migrant `integration` policy reform and a loose policy `network` of `integration`. Moreover, I approach this discursive evidence in its relation to the historical and economic developments of migration within Europe in the last few decades; an account of Switzerland`s developing relationship to the EU; the integration and citizenship conceptions issuing from these developments and `political membership` as understood in this study. Methodologically, I use eclectically a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach to researching Europe through the social bases, which are to be found in the national sociopolitical policy contexts: in other words the `translation` of deterritorialised politics into national policy `solutions`. These deterritorialised policies frame and address socialdemocratic ideas such as `equality of opportunity`/`equity`/`inclusion` through standards introduced in education in what is termed an `integration` framework. Integration however is directly related to issues of `political membership`. This study deals with how the use of social-democratic education standards as ‘flags of convenience’ may serve the liberal state in maintaining power relations. Lastly, it highlights the potentially cosmetic instrumentalisation and misapplication of education and its role in perpetuating pre-existing normative exclusionary principles of political membership.

Since the 1990s, a regional tier of governance has emerged in England, in a country which historically has not been noted for its regional identities. The vying for European Union (EU) structural funds has been seen as a key factor in the mobilisation of regions across Europe. It is within the context of UK membership of the EU, and the effects of the Europeanisation processes, that some scholars have placed the appearance of English regions. Other scholars have sought to explain the growth of English regional governance principally in terms of a response to globalisation. New Regionalism offers an insight into the renewed interest in regions as the focus for economic governance in an increasingly globalised world. With its emphasis on clusters, skills and innovation as a way to promote a competitive advantage, links have been made with New Labour’s economic agenda. Economic rescaling, on the other hand, has been seen to offer a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between the state and the regions. On this view, the state is actively rescaling economic governance in response to the pressures of globalisation, but at the same time still retains its traditional authority. The emergence of governance more generally has also been cited as a factor in English regionalisation. The extent to which the state is being “hollowed out” is a feature of this debate. Again, links have been made specifically to New Labour’s agenda that included plans for devolution for Scotland and Wales and plans for elected regional assemblies in England. This thesis examines the East of England and the South West English regions within the context of these debates. The central argument is that regionalisation in England is a centrally orchestrated process by central government as the nature of governance, but not the state, changes.

Unexplored areas in EU integration literature regarding regional representational channels give impetus to the research. Novelty lies in its concentration on reciprocal regional governmental and EU relations to test the hypothesis that Regions with Legislative Competencies (RLCs) interact in EU policy and decision-making to influence it through both formal and informal means. The work focuses on RLCs because they are able to harness a large degree of power and influence vis-à-vis the nation state, which increases their visibility in EU policy. The Basque Country is the case study due to its high degree of autonomy and resources that maximises its ability to influence EU policy. The period of analysis starts from the Maastricht Treaty negotiations (1991-1992) and concludes with the Basque parliamentary elections (2009). Existing literature explores the regional tier emphasising its involvement in EU decision and policymaking, primarily concerning structural and cohesion funds. Other scholarly contributions identify central governments as the regulators of substate regional participation at EU-level policymaking. The thesis argues that multi-level governance (MLG) offers new insights into examining EU integration and the phenomenon of regional ‘circumvention’ of central governments through informal representational avenues, including interregional organisations and diverse lobbying efforts. A MLG approach is useful because it considers varying levels of influence and jurisdiction of substate, state, and supranational entities within the EU. The thesis argues that the effective representational capability of RLCs depends on formal and informal institutional contacts, and it explores the most effective forms of representation for Euskadi and the policy areas where its activism has an impact. Fieldwork consists primarily of informal semi-structured interviews with EU representatives, the central state, Basque institutions, and interregional organisations. They are essential concerns for the methodology because they form a range of informal and formal representation channels, which have not been thoroughly surveyed in the literature.

This thesis deals with the europeanisation of the German asylum policy. It gives overview of the field of studying europeanisation -- ist development, terminology and various attitudes towards this topic. The tesis tries to resolve the question, whether German asylum policy and its major changes in the 90s were affected by the EU, or if Germany actively tries to influence the common European asylum policy.

This thesis deals with the topic of family reunification of third countries immigrants. Whole work is focused mainly on families with all family members coming from non-EU country. Rights and obligations of this group are highly influenced by the EU directive on family reunification 2003/86/ES, implemented into Czech law in 2005. Second group, which is discussed in the work, are families with one member being Czech or EU national and the other family members from non-EU countries. This work examines current legislative, which influences family reunification and examines its consequences on immigrants experience through the whole reunification process and their life - based on semi structured interviews. The main aim of this work is to explain current family reunification legislative and its development, using policy documents, stenographic protocols from debates of members of the legislature or election programs

Internationalization tendencies in obligation law with a focus on contract law Abstract This thesis deals with the harmonisation and unification of the law of obligations, mainly contract law at international, European as well as at national level. Emphasis is placed on the historical context, the current regulation at all three levels and the identification of individual problems. The first part of this thesis is devoted to a general introduction of the topic. It is divided into four parts, first explaining the concept of internationalisation in general and then introducing the different kinds. The first chapter introduces the concept of private international law, including European private international law. The second chapter is devoted to legal unification and harmonization at the international level. The third chapter deals with the Europeanization of the law of obligations, and the fourth and final chapter outlines the issue of comparative jurisprudence. The second part is devoted to the need and feasibility of legal unification, again both at the international and European levels. This part discusses the various individual problems, such as the ways of implementation, and the problems posed by efforts to harmonise legal systems and unify the regulation of contract law. The individual problems are...

The diploma thesis Europeanisation of Municipalities in the Czech Republic deals with the effects of membership in the European Union on the administrative structures of selected municipalities. This is a comparative case study of municipalities of various sizes and significance, namely the capital city of Prague, the statutory city of Pilsen and the city with extended powers Pisek. The aim of the thesis is to clarify which institutions in these municipalities manage the European agenda. The thesis follows three dimensions of the concept of Europeanisation (top-down; bottom-up and horizontal), which allows us to observe this issue from different angles. Research questions follow the logic of these three dimensions and the last research question focuses on comparing the Europeanisation of selected municipalities and identifying differences based on their size. The main source of the information was interviews with officials and politicians responsible for the European agenda in selected municipalities. The results of the work confirm the theoretical assumption that the size of municipalities has a significant impact on the management of the EU agenda. Financial and administrative capacities, the setting of European funds for the given city and the opinions of local political elites play the role...

What societal factors affect the rate of compliance with EU directives by EU member states? This paper aims to answer the question by investigating Finland’s and Denmark’s compliance with the EU Directive 2016/2284. There is a clear difference between them, in that Finland complied with the directive while Denmark did not. In order to understand why, three hypotheses have been produced based on extensive previous research on Europeanisation theory which is a prolific theoretical avenue to understanding the harmonisation of EU law. The hypotheses are differences in legal framework, the strong presence of Green parties in the national governments, and economic pressure set by the directive. By using a comparative method based on Mill’s “Most Similar System Design” I find that Green parties and the economic pressure set on specific national industries do seem to affect the rate at which Denmark and Finland implemented the Directive. The hope is that this paper contributes to the literature concerning Europeanization theory and its views on compliance with EU Directives.