Contenu du sommaire : L'environnement à l'Est : le modèle européen à l'épreuve

The environment: Is Europe a model? Protecting the environment was not originally a power of the Europe constituted under the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Nonetheless, a genuine public policy in this area has been worked out over the years through regulations, directives, action programs, financial tools and an ample jurisprudence from the European Court of Justice. But we are forced to admit that, despite the provision of means, the European model has not proven its effectiveness; the appraisal of its efforts is lukewarm.

Environmental action and local democracy in post-Communist Hungary The history of environmental policy in Hungary still seems to bear the marks of the Communist past. Till 1989, the environment came under consideration in planning only as a sectorial policy and was seen only in terms of nature conservation. The central government and bureaucracy, in charge of policy-making, were rather unwilling to regulate pollution and environmental hazards. By the late 1980s, environmentalist movements were objecting to this situation and challenging the declining regime. Despite its obvious willingness to break with the Communist past, Hungary has still not fully erased all traces of previous political and institutional practices. Environmental policy is still technocratic and centralized. Official institutions are struggling to apply European environmental standards based on sustainable development and local initiatives precisely because the latter are lacking. The Communist era's main legacy seems to be the lack of democratic participation at the local level in environmental (or other) matters.

Defending the environment in the Czech Republic. The environmentalist cause redefined and actors' trajectories Through changes in organizations and individuals' trajectories, light is shed on how environmental issues have been formulated in Czech lands since the 1970s. The hypothesis is advanced that various persons involved in protecting nature during the Communist era have exerted an influence on the environmentalist cause since 1990. This approach helps us glimpse points of convergence and divergence with trends observed during the same period in the West. It points out how permeable these societies were to international issues, which they translated back into the Communist system. Analyzing the construction of the environmentalist cause leads us to notice both "occupational conversions", which have circulated know- how, and the consolidation of activist careers, which gave shape to a type of environmentalist mobilization.

Lithuania: The environment, an issue revealing the city-country divide After identifying legacies from the Soviet period that affect the current state of the environment, attention is turned to ecological problems in urban and rural areas. Institutional changes after 1990 and the socioeco- nomic aspects of environmental questions then come under analysis. The cleavage between urban and rural areas, which already existed under the USSR, has persisted. Lithuania's joining the EU will necessarily have an impact, at present and in the future, on the environment. This impact is evaluated despite the difficulty of assessing events still too near to us.

The economic impact of applying the acquis communautaire of environmental matters in eastern and central European countries: Costs and benefits On 1 May 2004, the European Union underwent its fifth "enlargement", as ten new countries joined. Integrating the eight new members from central and eastern Europe represents an economic challenge, especially in environmental matters. By joining the EU, these countries have had to accept the acquis communautaire and adopt environmental regulations stricter than those already existing there. This bears a price, since industry must be brought up to par with EU standards, in particular with regard to waste management and the installation of appropriate administrative structures. However the introduction of these standards also brings along considerable economic advantages, mainly related to the saving of natural resources, the improvement of productivity thanks to innovation and an increase in market openings. A comparison of the costs and benefits of applying EU environmental standards shows that, in the middle or long run, the benefits will exceed the initial costs. Porter's hypothesis, which emphasizes the advantages of environmental policies, turns out to be true under condition that these policies are integrated as early as possible in economic strategies and are backed up by a precise assessment of a country's environmental and economic conditions.

Ecology bordering raison d'État in Russia The domain of secrecy, censorship and confidential, state-protected information varies from one country to another, and very much depends on circumstances. However a constant can be observed: raison d'État is always associated with the primordial functions (defense, security and diplomacy) of sovereignty. In Russia, ecology is traditionally related to natural resources. Control over the latter has always been essential in national security policy and, more broadly, state sovereignty. The political and legal conflicts are explored that arise out of the encounter between raison d'État and the constitutional principles of freedom of research and access to information.

The controversy in Russia about ratifying the Kyoto Protocol: New dilemmas and the weight of Soviet networks Whereas the EU plays a leading role in the fight against global climactic change, the question of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol has stirred up a surprisingly intense public controversy in post-Soviet Russia. While scientists in industrialized countries are bringing pressure to bear on governments to make them adopt public policies for preventing global risks, the Russian Academy of Sciences is opposed to this. The reasons accounting for this Russian reaction are explained. The development of this controversy is examined from the viewpoint of several social actors - persons, groups, institutions — involved in it. Light is shed on how global and national issues interlock. The lines of cleavage and nature of the coalitions are described.