"This book shifts the frontier of EU implementation research by studying the national customization of EU food law. Combining a highly original focus with a systematic approach, it produces very valuable insights on how EU policies fare after being adopted in Brussels." Ellen Mastenbroek, Professor of European Public Policy, Radboud University, Nijmegen This book sheds light on the patterns, causes and consequences of the "customization" of European Union (EU) policies. Even if they comply, member states interpret and adapt EU rules in very diverse ways when putting them into practice. We can think of and measure this diversity as a phenomenon of regulatory change along the implementation chain. The book explores what explains customization, and what it means for providing policy solutions to shared problems. It studies the implementation of EU food safety policies in Austria, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland using innovative qualitative comparative techniques. After looking at the role of prominent compliance arguments and the "logics of action" for customization, the study assesses how differing degrees of customization affect the success of the implementation. The book provides a new, evidence-based perspective on "gold-plating" and better regulation in Europe for scholars, students and practitioners of policy implementation, European integration and Europeanization alike. Eva Thomann is a senior lecturer in politics at the Department of Politics, University of Exeter, UK. Her research about the implementation of public policies particularly focuses on member state implementation in the European Union and policy implementation by "street-level bureaucrats". She specializes in set-theoretic comparative configurational research methods.

Autorentext
Eva Thomann is a senior lecturer in politics at the Department of Politics, University of Exeter, UK. Her research about the implementation of public policies particularly focuses on member state implementation in the European Union and policy implementation by street-level bureaucrats. She specializes in set-theoretic comparative configurational research methods.

Zusammenfassung
As a Journal Editor for over twenty-five years, I have read a lot about the European Union. I am often asked, 'what are the major gaps in EU research?' My answer is always 'implementation'. Eva Thomann's book makes a major contribution to EU implementation studies. She brings really fresh thinking to the field. This is an important book for all students of the EU and of policy implementation."
Jeremy Richardson, Co-Editor of the Journal of European Public Policy
This book sheds light on the patterns, causes and consequences of the customization of European Union (EU) policies. Even if they comply, member states interpret and adapt EU rules in very diverse ways when putting them into practice. We can think of and measure this diversity as a phenomenon of regulatory change along the implementation chain. The book explores what explains customization, and what it means for providing policy solutions to shared problems. It studies the implementation of EU food safety policies in Austria, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland using innovative qualitative comparative techniques. After looking at the role of prominent compliance arguments and the logics of action for customization, the study assesses how differing degrees of customization affect the success of the implementation. The book provides a new, evidence-based perspective on gold-plating and better regulation in Europe for scholars, students and practitioners of policy implementation, European integration and Europeanization alike.

Inhalt
ForewordPrefaceTable of contentsAbout the authorList of abbreviationsList of Figures and Tables
1Discretion, diversity and problem-solving in the European Union2Moving beyond (non-)compliance: Conceptualizing customization3Researching customization: The data, the methods, and the cases4Customizing Europe: Four member states compared 5The best of both worlds? Logics of action and customization6Europeanized solutions to shared problems? How customization affects policy outcomes7Customization, adaptive implementation, and the European experienceReferences