ABSTRACT
The primary objective and significant challenge for the states of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) which acceded to the European Union in the period 2004–2007 was to ‘catch up with the West’. Sustainable development (SD) policies and strategies have the potential to provide the mechanism by which this might be achieved, while also protecting their environment. But the most important prerequisite is the acceptance of the shared values and norms of the EU’s discourse on sustainability and sustainable development and the embedding of this discourse into the governance structures of the CEE states. It is argued in this chapter that opportunities for this process to take place have not been fully exploited. It is possible to identify several positive developments for the promotion of SD in the region, such as ‘new patterns and institutions of environmental governance’ (Baker 2006: 206) (including new institutions specifically set up to deal with SD in most CEE countries), the development of legislation and increased participation (ibid.).
