Principles of international environmental protection - Introduction to International Environmental Law - page 90

European Union
The member states of the European Union have voluntarily surrendered their
sovereignty to the EU to such an extent that it can no longer be considered
an intergovernmental organization (although it is, in principle, and although
a member state can leave it if it so desires). The Court of Justice of the
European Union (CJEU) specifi es that the EU is a legal system of its own,
separate from the legal systems of its member states and distinct from inter-
national law.
The member states have gradually surrendered signifi cant authority to the
EU on environmental issues. The status of a member state in environmental
law and policy has changed during its membership, as a good deal of relevant
authority has been assigned to the EU over the years. The freedom of action
of a member state in environmental policy and law is limited by EU environ-
mental law as well as international environmental law.
The Treaty of Rome of 1957, which founded the EU's predecessor, the
European Economic Community (EEC), contained no reference to environ-
mental protection; it was fi nally included in the Single European Act in 1986.
The original motivation of EU environmental regulation was primarily the
functioning of the internal market - securing equal opportunities of competi-
tion through unifi ed regulations and eliminating unfair competition. The fi rst
'pure' environmental policy (Environmental Action Programme) was adopted
in 1973, when the Directorate-General for the Environment in the
Commission was established. These action programmes are the policies that
still govern EU environmental policy, the most recent of which (the sixth
Environment Action Programme) began in 2002 and ended in 2012.
Environmental regulation in the EU is extremely comprehensive. EU envi-
ronmental law has developed over decades; today, it comprises hundreds of
laws, usually in the form of directives and regulations. Environmental law
consists predominantly of directives. Member states must implement directives
in their domestic legal systems within a certain timeframe and inform the
Commission of the measures that they have taken to do so. The directives are
binding in terms of their objectives but the forms and means of implementa-
tion are for the member states to decide. If a member state fails to implement
a directive fully within the time limit, the directive will become legally bind-
ing on it anyway (this is called 'direct effect'). Regulations are immediately
legally binding when they are enacted throughout the EU, and no further
national implementation measures are required by member states.
The Commission ensures that EU law is implemented and applied by the
member countries. If the Commission suspects, on the basis of its fi ndings, that
a member state has not met its obligations, it initiates a two-stage pre-litigation
procedure called the infringement procedure (the letter of formal notice and
the reasoned opinion), after which it can take the member state to the EU
judiciary.