THE TRANS-EUROPEAN TRANSPORT NETWORK - ENVIRONMENTAL-POLICY INTEGRATION IN THE EUROPEAN-UNION

This article critically examines the integration of environmental poli cy in the European Union (EU), focusing on the development of Policy G uidelines for the trans-European transport network. Key events are cha rted by which the integration of environmental concerns came to hinge on a single contested issue - the adoption of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The success of SEA in achieving environmental-policy integration is evaluated. An important aspect of this approach is to explore how the hegemonic discourses in the EU shape the policy proces s, and condition the success or failure of environmental integration. The al-tide reflects on current debates about ecological modernization in the EU, arguing that the institutional learning model is inappropr iate, and suggesting that understanding ecological modernization as cu ltural politics may bring a clearer understanding of the constructed n ature of environmental-policy integration.