Risk Regulation in Europe

The publication aims to familiarize§students of public policy with the precautionary principle, which plays a vital§role in the European Union s approach toward regulating risks. The§precautionary principle contends that policy makers should refrain from actions§having a suspected risk of causing harm to the public. Although the provisions§of the precautionary principle are reflected by many European policies, there§are equally instances where actions are taken in spite of persisting scientific§uncertainty. The question thus arises under which conditions the application of§the precautionary principle is hampered. The book addresses this question on§the basis of three in-depth analyses. The first two cases illustrate regulatory§situations, in which food products were preventatively banned from the European§market, namely US beef produced with growth hormones and the natural sweetener§Stevia. The third case study is about the legalization of the commercial§cultivation of genetically modified crops in spite of scientific uncertainty§about their overall impact on human health and the ecosystem. These case studies show that it is not the§availability of scientific evidence that predominantly determines the§application of the precautionary principles but the power of economic interests§in the multi-level system of the European Union. The book concentrates on the§relevance of scientific evidence for policy making and interest group politics,§making the book of interest to both academics and policymakers concerned with§regulation.