Influencing EU fisheries policy through (trans)national networks: The case of the Province of Flevoland

Abstract

The Province of Flevoland looks to influence the EU’s fisheries legislation, to appeal for European grants and to have a strong voice during the Brexit negotiations. The research asks whether it is worth to build coalitions via (trans)national networks of regions in the field of fisheries and if these coalitions can influence EU policy-making. The basic idea of the research is to analyze the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR) and the Fisheries Regions Network the Netherlands (FRNN) in a multilevel governance context. The thesis establishes a coherent theoretical framework for the analysis of (trans)national networks related to fisheries, by explaining the theory of access, Europeanisation, regionalization and multi-level governance. Furthermore, a SWOT analysis is used to develop an understanding of the CPMR and the FRNN by mapping the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the networks. With help of the insights the SWOT analysis provides, a EU fisheries lobby strategy for the Province of Flevoland will be formed.