ABSTRACT
What happens to a European law or programme after its official passing at the European level? How do the formal transposition and the practical application of legal acts take shape at the national level? Which problems and deviations from the European objectives can be observed? At first glance, it could be assumed that questions like these are relatively trivial. Why should there be any problems in putting into practice an apparently well-devised measure that was accepted by the Council of Ministers? Political reality is more complex, however, as can be seen from the widespread implementation deficits that are generally observed regarding European policies. Research into policy implementation had already demonstrated in the 1970s and 1980s that even with national programmes, great deviations and shifts in objectives could occur during the execution phase. It is rarely the case that administrative agencies follow political guidelines unrestrictedly during implementation, and even if they do so, in some cases the results deviate remarkably from political expectations.
