Travelling to Brussels via Aarhus: can transnational NGO networks impact on EU policy?

This article analyses and evaluates how co-operation between the European Commission and a transnational NGO network has impacted on the implementation, enforcement and review of an EU policy. Transnational NGO networks are expected to have a better output based on stronger loyalties to a given EU policy than transgovernmental networks linking up national authorities. At the same time, NGO networks may have to revert to arena-shopping strategies to make an impact on policy development at the EU level. The transnational Stichting Natuur en Milieu (SNM) network supported the implementation of the 1990 Access to Environmental Information Directive and is used as a case study. While the SNM network had a good output, networked NGOs could have the strongest impact on the EU level by participating in the UN-ECE negotiations of the Aarhus Convention, the results of which were implemented in 2003 by means of a strengthened EU directive. The article concludes with a discussion of the future prospects of transnational NGO networks at the EU level.