 Access to Environmental Information in the EU: A Great Policy No‐One Needs?Maarten Hillebrandt Journal of Common Market Studies, 2021, vol. 59, issue 5, 1051-1068 Abstract: It is commonly argued that public institutions resist the advance of transparency, while civil society organisations (CSOs) are expected to advocate for more generous transparency laws that allow them to better participate in decision‐making. Remarkably, the way in which transparency developed in the Environment Council at least partially contradicts both claims. Here, the Council oversaw a steady expansion in the formal transparency policy framework, without notable resistance from the Council or its members. Yet from the outset, CSOs hardly made use of their transparency rights to obtain access. This article seeks an explanation for this apparently anomalous development in informal norms. Applying a qualitative case‐study analysis of multiple data sources, it demonstrates how informal norms develop alongside the formal access regime, implicating external actors, serving diverse and at times contradictory objectives, and showing a dynamic character over time. The findings highlight the indispensability of informality for understanding formal transparency policies. Date: 2021 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:59:y:2021:i:5:p:1051-1068 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Journal of Common Market Studies is currently edited by Jim Rollo and Daniel Wincott More articles in Journal of Common Market Studies from Wiley Blackwell |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.