Influencers, good learners and ignorers in the process of Europeanisation : the emergence of European concepts in the spatial planning of EU Member States

Abstract

The study addresses the differences between EU Member States’ (MSs) participation in the Europeanisation of spatial planning. Using expert surveys and planning document analysis, it examines how EU-level planning concepts emerge and are adopted domestically. Countries’ roles vary based on planning culture, power dynamics and political will. Cohesion Policy and Europe’s core-periphery divide shape these patterns: Western core countries act as influencers, while new Eastern MSs have been ‘good learners’. In contrast, the UK and countries in northern and southern Europe are less active in adopting these concepts. The study reveals barriers to the idealistic discursive integration described by the literature.