The EU Water Framework Directive: A multi-dimensional analysis of implementation and domestic impact

This paper tries to answer two questions related to the implementation of one of Europe's most influential EU-directives, the Water Framework Directive. First, it describes how three Member States, Denmark, the Netherlands and France, actually struggle and cope with this ambitious Directive. Second, it discusses existing theories of EU implementation and questions whether they are able to deal with the overwhelming diversity in national responses to this open-ended and flexible ‘new generation’ EU-directive. Denmark, the Netherlands and France were selected because they represent a fair degree of diversity. Denmark started out the implementation process with high ambitions and a relatively formal approach, whereas the Netherlands from the outset chose to follow a more pragmatic course. France is an interesting case because this country already had a mature system of river basin management in place before the WFD came into force. Compared to existing implementation theories, the paper offers a more differentiated way of describing and structuring the implementation processes that contemporary EU-directives are producing in a world coloured by multi-actor, multi-level and multi-sector governance.

Research highlights▶ We compared the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive in three countries: France, Denmark and The Netherlands. ▶ We designed a new, more differentiated way of describing and analyzing implementation processes that takes into account multiple dimensions of governance. ▶ The countries followed different pathways. ▶ Denmark started out with high ambitions and a more centralized, formal approach, whereas The Netherlands followed a more pragmatic course. France was in between, and ambitions were politically corrected. ▶ Explanations can be in part be found in varying institutional structures and in responses to past experiences of member states.