Explaining differentiated policy implementation of EU animal welfare regulations

Abstract

Farm animal welfare has emerged as a growing policy subsystem within the European Union's (EU) Common Agricultural Policy. However, despite a harmonized EU framework, member states differ substantially in how they implement EU directives on farm animal welfare. Building on the concept of differentiated policy implementation (DPI), we examine how institutional fit, domestic politics and problem pressure shape national implementation patterns in three EU member states with large animal production: Denmark, France and Spain. Our findings reveal that whilst economic imperatives create tensions across all cases, national policy‐making styles and actor constellations drive divergent outcomes. We argue that the relevance of DPI factors is shaped in part by the characteristics of the policy subsystem, particularly its political salience and economic salience. Moreover, our article advances the understanding of how national contexts influence EU implementation in an understudied policy domain and provides practical insights for current challenges and potentials in animal welfare policy‐making.