The EU as an Environmental Actor: how a Third Country views this role

The purpose of this research was to assess a gap between reality of Thai perception towards the European Union (EU) cooperation and assistance. The study separated into two parts; the contribution of the EU in the field of environment in Thailand and perception of Thai towards this field. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were utilized in this study. The quantitative research data was gathered through questionnaires. The qualitative research data consists of volume and contents of EU news coverage gathered from four different types of newspapers along with the in-depth interviews with key informants. The findings stated that the EU received low visibility and majority of Thai lack of awareness of Thailand ¿EU environmental cooperation due to its complexity. Even among non-state-actor elite group claimed difficulties in dealing and working with the EU. The study aimed to contribute a true picture of the EU as an environmental actor and pointed out weaknesses and obstacles of the current relationship with Thailand so that the EU can ameliorate its strategy to Thailand in the future.