ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses various explanations offered by the literature on the implementation of European environmental policy and scrutinizes them for their capacity to account for the varying degree of compliance in the four southern member states. It focuses on 'Mediterranean Syndrome' approach, which argues that the Southerners share some genuine defects in their culture that make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to comply with European Environmental Law. The chapter argues that neither the 'Mediterranean Syndrome' nor more general approaches can explain the varying compliance records of the (southern) member states. Nor can they account for the overall variation observed across the North-South divide. The chapter develops an alternative model, which systematically links European and domestic factors in explaining compliance and implementation. The model is not only able to account for cross-country variation in the various parts of Europe. It helps to understand why the member states comply better with some policies than with others.
