Europeanized Solutions to Shared Problems? How Customization Affects Policy Outcomes

Abstract

This chapter explores how customization affects the degree to which European Union (EU) food safety policies are successfully implemented. It empirically assesses the contradictory views of the relevance of discretion for effective problem-solving that prevail in the fields of policy implementation and better regulation. Focusing on the policy “in action”, I conceive of successful implementation as the absence of problems in the delivery of domestic outputs and outcomes. Results of a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis of four member states and of Switzerland illustrates how customization serves as a strategy for problem-solving within an overarching framework of successful policy implementation. The evidence relativizes the EU’s “no gold-plating” policy. Depending on the regulatory context, extensive customization frequently contributes to implementation success.