Evaluating Greece's environmental policy implementation patterns in turbulent times (2007-2022)

The current paper analyses the implementation of EU environmental policy in Greece during the economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. Its main goal is to investigate and evaluate all those factors that impact the implementation of EU environmental policy at the national level and shape Greece’s overall environmental performance in comparison with other EU states over the period 2007-2022. Drawing on the existing academic literature and implementation reports published annually by the European Commission, Greece is consistently recording a high number of environmental infringements in the stated period (2007-2022). Indicatively, Greece’s non-compliance with EU legislation is mainly attributed to chronic implementation deficits, weak administrative capacity, and a blend of domestic problems and weaknesses situated at political, administrative, institutional, and economic levels. Methodologically, our study rests on qualitative methods. First, we examined the record of environmental infringements in the period 2007-2022 and reviewed all implementation reports published by the European Union during the stated period. Additionally, we conducted 42 in-depth elite interviews with policy-makers and key environmental governance actors in Greece. In light of the debate about "Environmental Leaders and Laggards" we aim to conduce to an in-depth understanding of the national implementation patterns, (i.e., how domestic environmental dynamics are formed and how environmental policy is implemented in a period of intense volatility and high political and economic controversies). Particularly, we evaluate the possible effects of the economic crisis, austerity measures, and the coronavirus pandemic on (non) efficient, correct, and timely implementation of EU environmental policy. In addition, the paper aspires to contribute to the existing literature by exploring the root causes of compliance deficits, providing a contemporary and thorough study of the domestic attributes and dynamics, and ultimately opening a debate on whether and how implementation gaps can be addressed in a crisis-ridden Southern European Member State such as Greece.