Experiments in Food Safety Policy Integration in the European Union*

Abstract

Policy issues are increasingly cross-cutting. Policy integration has therefore become a fashionable concept among policy-makers at domestic and international levels. Theoretically, the article facilitates a deeper understanding of the concept of policy integration. Empirically, this article analyses food safety policy integration in the European Union (EU). Three different historical phases are identified here. The central argument is that the way cross-cutting policy issues are integrated within policy sectors affects the opportunities for effective integration of these issues across different policy sectors.* The authors would like to thank the anonymous JCMS referees, Svein Ole Borgen and Morten Egeberg for their comments on earlier drafts. We are also indebted to Jessica Duncan for her research assistance.

The importance of EU-15 borders for CEECs agri-food exports: The role of tariffs and non-tariff measures in the pre-accession period

“…28 The explanation of this contradictory result (between sanitary and phytosanitary/quality measures) lies more from the ways standards are harmonised across the EU than in the actual content of the measures themselves. The use of regulation in the sanitary field has led to a higher degree of EU market integration (Ugland and Veggeland, 2006) because each member state has the obligation to apply the regulation text strictly without any national adaptation. Conversely, regarding residue level of pesticides (phytosanitary measures), pan-EU harmonisation was, up until to 2005, carried out through directives allowing member states a certain latitude to transpose this text in their law.…”

Guaranteeing quality in the EU: who gains most?

“…This covers how farmers produce food, how it is processed, how it is sold and the nature of the information provided on the labeling. The rationale for this is concerns partly about health and public safety and partly about facilitating the single market The European Food safety Authority (EFSA) was set up in 2002 following a White Paper recommendation of 2000 and partially in response to food health scares such as 'mad cow' disease or BSE (Ugland and Veggeland 2006). Its role is restricted to risk assessment and risk communication to interested parties and the public at large.…”

Institusjonelle bindinger og interessekamp: Norges tilpasning til EU på mat- og landbruksfeltet

“…Det er samtidig verdt å merke seg at EUs regelverk på matfeltet, ikke minst på områder knyttet til mattrygghet og dyrehelse, har vaert under sterk utvikling siden begynnelsen av 1990-tallet (O'Rourke 2005; Ugland & Veggeland 2006;Vos & Wendler 2006;Lie & Veggeland 2010). En viktig hendelse i denne sammenheng var «kugalskap-krisen».…”