Title XX Environment

Author(s):  
Sacha Garben

The environment does not respect man-made borders, and is of common concern and interest of all mankind. As such, it is an area that merits and requires cross-border law and policy making par excellence. This should be reflected in the strong role played by the EU, which has a firm Treaty mandate and duty to protect the environment, features a rich body of case law, and boasts a dense set of secondary legislation. The very good reasons for this notwithstanding, it remains a remarkable development considering the absence of any reference to the environment in the original Treaties. Although a programme for action in this area was soon adopted in 1973, only in the 1986 SEA was an environmental legal basis introduced. Much of the initial environmental acquis was therefore developed by the Commission, the Council, and later the EP on the basis of other Treaty provisions, such as (now) Articles 114, 115, and 352 TFEU. EU environmental protection also owes a debt to the ECJ, which included it in the legitimate objectives on the basis of which MS could derogate from the free movement provisions. The Court has interpreted the provisions of EU environmental law generally in a protective manner, and endorsed the use of criminal law for the effective enforcement of EU environmental legislation.

Author(s):  
Stuart Bell ◽  
Donald McGillivray ◽  
Ole W. Pedersen ◽  
Emma Lees ◽  
Elen Stokes

This chapter provides a brief overview of how the EU shapes UK environmental law and policy. It begins by providing an introductory guide to EU law, outlining the key institutions of the EU, the different sources of EU law, and how EU law is made. The chapter then proceeds to look at the more substantive elements of EU law as they affect environmental protection, starting with the policy and constitutional bases for EU environmental law, and gives a flavour of the scope of EU environmental legislation, before considering the scope for national standards to exceed those set at EU level or to disrupt trade between the Member States. This is followed by a discussion of the challenges faced in making EU environmental law work, and then with some thoughts on the impact of Brexit and how this may shape UK environmental law.


elni Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
Thomas Ormond

In recent years it has become fashionable again among politicians and publicists across Europe to practice ‘Brussels bashing’ and make the EU responsible for many ills of globalisation and modern society. This applies in particular to the field of environmental law. The European Union has been active in the field of environmental protection since the 1970s, i.e. since a time when there was no Union yet but a European Economic Community (EEC), a European Coal and Steel Community and a European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The EEC Treaty of 1957 did not know the term ‘environmental protection’ and for the next decades did not contain any explicit legislative competence for this subject matter. The main instrument of EU environmental policy is the directive. In the European context it means a framework law, as proposed by the EU Commission and adopted by the Council and the European Parliament, which the Member States have to transpose within certain deadlines into their national law, and specify and implement by their authorities into practice. The directive is binding as regards the objective (the result to be achieved) but leaves the choice of form and methods to the national authorities. It is estimated that 80% of current environmental law in Germany (as well as probably in other Member States) is determined by the European Union. The author of this article presents his thoughts on how the EU shapes Member State environmental law and policy, highlighting inter alia “innovation from Brussels” such as EIA, access to environmental information and climate protection, as well as the systematic and risk-based approach as hallmark of EU legislation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 316-358
Author(s):  
Jan Wouters ◽  
Frank Hoffmeister ◽  
Geert De Baere ◽  
Thomas Ramopoulos

This chapter recalls how the EU started to become engaged in the international protection of the environment. It explains in detail the ECJ case law on the choice of legal basis under EU law when an international agreement contains both aspects of commercial policy and environmental protection. It also analyses the internal struggle between the EU institutions on how to conduct international environmental negotiations. The chapter includes a case study about the EU’s role in combating climate change and underlines the important contribution of the EU in the operation of numerous international environmental conventions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-346
Author(s):  
Roderic O'Gorman

The UK’s departure from the EU will have significant impact on the existing EU environmental protection regimes. This article examines the possible options for the new relationship between the EU27 and the UK and how the environment might be protected under this. This is done through an analysis of how environmental law is dealt with under the EU’s existing relationship models with non-member states. These models are examined in conjunction with the negotiating lines that have been set down by both the UK and EU to see which is most politically feasible, and what impact it will have on how the EU protects the environment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine Misonne

AbstractThe European Union (EU) aims to ensure a high level of environmental protection. This is a key message of primary EU law. This article explores the purpose and meaning of this explicit ambition. It deciphers its influence on case law and on judicial review of legislative and administrative discretion. It argues that the requirement goes beyond window dressing and that its added value lies both in supporting the legitimacy of bold decisions and in preventing a manifest dismissal of the requisites of environmental protection.Although primarily focused on EU law and on its technicalities, the article may offer helpful insights to other transnational or federal systems. It may help to build a better understanding of some of the challenges facing any environmental law regime confronted with the sensitive issue of ‘ambition’.


2019 ◽  
pp. 92-120
Author(s):  
Anniek de Ruijter

The growth of substantive EU public health and individual health policy and law is matched by a historic build-up of EU institutional actors. The institutional expansion has increased the EU’s capacity for law- and policy-making in the field of health and as such the possibility for the growth of EU power in this area. This chapter traces the evolution and growing presence of EU institutional actors in human health. It outlines the relevance of the growing institutional capacity for creating EU health law and policy. Subsequently a sketch is drawn of the emergence of EU institutional involvement in health policy—while taking into consideration that it may not be possible to create an exhaustive overview of all health actors involved at the EU level. This outline illustrates the growth of a variety of institutional actors and the expanding number of ways these engage in health policymaking. Moreover, the chapter demonstrates various ways in which EU institutional involvement in health is continuously expanding and changing. It illustrates that there is ample opportunity for formal actors with legislative or regulatory powers to be involved in informal processes of coordinating policy in the shadow of hierarchy. The growing institutional presence of the EU in health policy over time, and the possible shift in power to the EU this can entail, again confronts us with the pressing issue of its impact on fundamental rights and values in health.


Author(s):  
Margot Horspool ◽  
Matthew Humphreys ◽  
Michael Wells-Greco

This chapter reviews environmental law and policy in the European Union, considering Union powers and the international context. It discusses the framework for Union environmental law and policy; environmental principles; European Union environmental law by sector; trade in endangered species; nature conservation; environmental protection implementation and enforcement; and environmental litigation.


2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth Davies

This article looks at the law and policy issues surrounding the practice of charging uniform fees for higher education to home students and students coming from other EU Member States. It begins with the observation that within the EU such fees are heavily subsidised by governments and therefore amount to a financial benefit (or a disguised grant) to students. In the light of this, this article suggests that restricting that subsidy to students resident prior to their studies would be not only compatible with recent case law on non-discrimination but would also fit better with the underlying logic of free movement, which denies any right to benefits for non-economic recent migrants. Secondly, it looks at the policy, and finds that while equal fees have a number of very positive social effects, they also carry moral and economic risks. A better approach, less distorting of the market for higher education and more consistent with the wider EU approach to welfare migration, might be to require exportability of subsidies from the student's state of origin.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-319
Author(s):  
Alejandro Sánchez Frías

The threat of foreign terrorist fighters has led to the development of preventive criminal law on an international and European level. The EU Directive on combating terrorism can have two impacts on the free movement of EU citizens. It directly calls upon Member States to criminalise the act of travelling, as well as other conduct that may be connected to a terrorist offence. In addition, ecj case law accepts EU criminal law as a basis for public security derogations against free movement. Therefore, the commission of any of the acts criminalised in the EU Directive on combating terrorism could be used as a reason to restrict the exercise of free movement by EU citizens. When Member States begin to adopt these measures, litigation on the balance between preventive criminal justice and free movement of EU citizens will increase.


elni Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Céline Charveriat ◽  
Andrew Farmer

Brexit is an unprecedented event for the EU. No Member State has ever left the Union previously. At most, overseas territories with small populations have changed status, such as Greenland (Denmark) in 1985 and the Outermost Region Saint Barthélemy (France), which became an Overseas Country and Territory (OCT) in 2012. These cases may have limited lessons for the UK adapting its legislation post-Brexit, as they did not impact EU decision making and law and, therefore, are not precedents for the subject of this paper. There has been quite a lot of analysis on the possible consequences of Brexit for the future of UK environmental law. However, less attention has been given to the implications Brexit may have for the future of EU environmental law and policy. This paper presents some thoughts on this subject. It begins with a consideration of the impact of Brexit on the general political and economic atmosphere of EU environmental policy making. The paper then considers the issues of trade and the external border. Some specific policy areas are examined, including chemicals, climate policy and agriculture. The paper ends by considering the implications of a possible future dispute mechanism with the UK.


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