THE RETURN DIRECTIVE AND EUROPEANISATION The complex dynamic between EU policy and national legislation in Sweden and Finland

Abstract

The balance between EU influence and national sovereignty is complex, and EU directives are rarely transposed completely without conflict. This study aims to understand the influence EU policy has, and to what extent a directive is reflected in national legislation once transposition measures have been adhered. In this analysis, the 2008 Return Directive on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals will be analysed, along with legislation from Sweden and Finland. The analysis will be based on the Europeanisation theory, and the goodness of fit dimension will also be applied to take into account the level of Europeanisation prior to transposition. The study follows a two-stage analysis, a comparative analysis of the material using an analytical framework and a dimensional analysis using the goodness of fit dimension. The results of the study show that both states have transposed the Directive onto their national legislation in an effective way, and that despite differences in return legislation they ended up with a very similar legislative process. This indicates a high Europeanisation effect in both countries since the results where similar, even though goodness of fit was stronger in Swedish legislation than in Finnish legislation.