Compliance with EU biofuel targets in South-Eastern and Eastern Europe: Do interest groups matter?

Abstract

The European Union requires its member states to establish national targets for the biofuel content of all diesel and petrol supplies for transport placed on the market. This study explores the adoption of this European Union policy across South-Eastern and Eastern Europe between 2003 and 2012. In theoretical terms, we are specifically interested in examining the role of interest groups for policy adoption. We argue that the oil industry in general and the producers of biofuels in particular will support the establishment of national biofuel targets because they expect economic gains. By contrast, we expect environmental groups with international and regional ties to oppose such targets because biofuels have come under attack for their potential environmental impact including deforestation, a loss in biodiversity, and food insecurity. Empirically, we concentrate on policy adoptions in 21 South-Eastern and Eastern European states with varied relations to the European Union and the Energy Community. Our analysis supports our main arguments in suggesting that a stronger presence of environmental groups decreases the chances of adopting national biofuel targets across our country sample while producer interests tend to increase adoptions. This finding holds true also when controlling for a country's European Union membership and accession perspective, membership in the Energy Community, and additional domestic-level factors. These results add more generally to our understanding about compliance with European Union policies and environmental governance.

Organised Interests in the Energy Sector: A Comparative Study of the Influence of Interest Groups in Czechia and Hungary

“…Numerous analyses on CEE energy policy exist (Balmaceda, 2002;Binhack & Tichý, 2012;Szulecki, Fischer, Gullberg, & Sartor, 2016;Vlček & Černoch, 2013), some of which have even addressed organised interests (Carmin, 2010;Tosun & Schulze, 2015). According to Andersen, Goldthau and Sitter (2017), the main explanation for energy policy choices within these countries is neither the post-communist legacy nor geographical particularities.…”

“…Devaux (2006) analyses the influence of professional organisations on environmental issues and determines that organisations from the Soviet era with expert knowledge are still most influential. Tosun and Schulze (2015), by contrast, analysed the influence of interest groups in a very specific casecompliance with EU biofuel targets. Interestingly, their analysis indicates, first, that their influence varies within countries and, second, that biofuel producers more significantly impact the adoption of targets than environmental groups (Tosun & Schulze, 2015).…”

“…Tosun and Schulze (2015), by contrast, analysed the influence of interest groups in a very specific casecompliance with EU biofuel targets. Interestingly, their analysis indicates, first, that their influence varies within countries and, second, that biofuel producers more significantly impact the adoption of targets than environmental groups (Tosun & Schulze, 2015).…”

Building the EU’s Energy Policy Agenda: An Introduction

“…4 is that it approaches the Energy Community from the perspective of agenda shaping. This perspective is promising for disentangling the mechanisms by which agenda shaping affects energy policy outside the EU (see also Tosun 2012;Tosun and Schulze 2015). Together, these chapters help to increase our understanding of when agenda shaping leads to legislative action and when it does not.…”

“…Compared to its origins, EU energy policy has developed into a fully-fledged policy field with the Commission having achieved more and more competencies in the course of time (Maltby 2013). Even more astonishingly, not only has EU energy policy developed in a remarkable fashion internally, but it has also been extended to non-member states through external action like the Energy Community (Göler and Kurze 2009;Prange-Gstöhl 2009;Renner and Trauner 2009;Tosun 2012;Carafa 2013;Tosun and Schulze 2015).…”