Swedish Application of Floods Directive: Bottom-Up or Top-Down?

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to first evaluate how the EU´s FD is implemented and understood on a national level in Sweden. This is done to highlight the process and division of power, together with the national implementation strategies demarcation across different actors in Sweden. The theoretical underpinnings operationalize the work of Hedelin and Lindström by two types of behavior presented by the member states in regard to EU frameworks. The first segment focuses on the integrationparticipation-sustainability concept of member states in regard to the FD, and the second segment demarcates the decentralized approach under which some member states (Sweden respectively in this thesis) wield power. To translate these concepts to praxis, two qualitative analysis methods –document content analysis and interviews– are used. The results show that while Sweden being a sustainability champion in many environmental policies implementation, there is still disharmony among different levels of governance. The way forward lays in more effective support from national authorities for lower levels of power, and especially in focusing on regional cooperation.