Sectoral Governance Structures, Risk Perception and Safety Regulation in the European Union: Aviation and Nuclear Energy

This paper compares the development of European Union (EU)-level regulations in the aviation and nuclear energy sectors. Although both sectors have similar motivations for maintaining the highest levels of safety, they have pursued different strategies for achieving safety, leading to varying success in achieving coordination and cooperation across member states. I argue that these divergences stem from variations in internal governance in the two sectors, interacting with perceptions of the risks associated with each among the general public. A third variable is the structure of technology in these two sectors, which determines responses to potential or actual disasters. These variables ultimately affect safety regulation and related preferences on the part of industry stakeholders, individual member states, and EU institutions. The paper is based on analysis of EU legislation and official documents, including those issued by safety regulators in each sector and public opinion data on risk perception is consulted as well.