A Negative Brussels Effect? Organised Business and the Europeanisation of the Environment in the 1970s. : Preprint
- 2026
Published in:
- Journal of European Integration History / Kiran Klaus Patel; Laurent Warlouzet. - 2026, vol. 32, no. 1, p. 75-94
English
Drawing on business associations’ archives of various European countries, this article examines the joint action of the Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and the Council of European Industrial Federations (CEIF) regarding the Europeanisation of the environment in the early 1970s. The analysis shows that the structuring of business representation fostered a race to the bottom logic in the name of consensus and the prevention of market distortion. A “Brussels Effect” was thus already at play, as both companies and governments were reluctant to adopt norms that could lead to market fragmentation. Yet, as illustrated by the example of vehicle emissions standards, this effect was predominantly obstructionist: the imperative of preserving free trade and market integrity was strategically invoked to delay the adoption of greener standards in more progressive states, including those outside the European Economic Community (EEC).
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- English
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License undefined
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- ARK ark:/51647/srd1336607
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- https://n2t.net/ark:/51647/srd1336607
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