Europeanisation and Cultural Variation in Policy-Making: The Case of the EU Positive Energy Districts Initiative

Abstract

EU-wide policy-making can potentially involve considerable variety in the styles of policy implementation response across member states. This is one manifestation of Europeanisation: how EU membership impacts member states. This variety across member states has been sustained, as EU policy-making expands into new policy areas, alongside developments in experimentalist modes of governance. In this study, we offer new insights into Europeanisation by exploring the issue of national culture as developed by Geert and Gert Jan Hofstede. We analyse how cultural variation can have a profound impact on preferred local policy-making styles, demonstrating how a culturally sensitive lens highlights different policy means being adopted to achieve common policy goals. To explore this empirically, we analyse interview data from experts in renewable energy system development, specifically around how they perceive the implementation approaches for the relatively new concept of positive energy districts (PEDs) in Amsterdam, Lisbon and Vienna. We develop an analytical framework drawing together key enabling elements of PEDs with different implicit cultural models. We find that expert insights into PED development align with the theoretical lens of cultural variation. We conclude that cultural variation can have a significant impact on how member states respond to and implement EU-level policy goals.