To which extent is the EU entitled to launch
environmental policies? Please give examples.

ESSAY

written within the seminar
European Integration
of the course of study International Business
at the University of Applied Sciences Mainz,

Submitted by: 

Johannes Thomas Hartmann

Submitted on: 05/10/2002

CONTENT

ABBREVIATIONS  II

1. Introduction  1
1.1 Assignment’s title  1
1.2 Complication  1
1.3 Realization  1

2. Background of European policy-making on the environment  2
2.1 Forms of legislation  2
2.2 Legal basis for Community’s policy on the environment  3

3. Who takes action?  4
3.1 Principle of subsidiarity  4
3.1.1 The Community takes action  6
3.1.2 The Member States take action  7
3.1.2.1 Opting out of measures introduced under article 175 TEC  7
3.1.2.2 Opting out of measures introduced under article 95 (1) TEC. 8
3.1.2.3 Opting out by using a safeguard clause  10
3.1.2.4 No measures taken by the Community  11
3.2 Community′s exclusive competence  12

4. Conclusion  12

LITERATURE INDEX  14

LIST OF APPENDIX  16

ABBREVIATIONS
EC European Community
ECSC European Coal and Steel Community
EEP1 European Environmental Policy
EU European Union Euratom European Atomic Energy Community
GMO Genetically Modified Organism
PCP Pentachlorphenol
SEA Single European Act
TEC Treaty of the European Community
TEU Treaty on European Union

1. Introduction

1.1 Assignment’s title

"To which extent is the European Union (EU) entitled to launch environmental policies ? Please give examples."

1.2 Complication

The assignment should not simply be answered by proving the fact, that the European Union (EU)² is able to launch environmental policies. Instead one should analyse the complex field of policy-making on the environment within the EU.

Mainly two questions specify the scope of this analysis:

•  What are the competencies of the EU within the field of environmental policy and what is the legal basis for such competencies?
•  With regard to the role of the Member States, in what ways do limits to EU′s policy on the environment exist?

1.3 Realization

First, in order to provide a basis for the analysis the forms of legislation available to the EU, which are mentioned in this essay and the core legal basis of EEP shall be outlined.

The following analysis will illustrate in how far the EU or the Member States respectively are responsible to determine environmental policy. In this context past examples from policy-making on the environment shall support the theoretical elucidation.

At the end a summary of the results produced by the preceding chapters and a final answer to the question posed in the essay′s title will be given.

2. Background of European policy-making on the environment

The Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and the various annexes and protocols attached to them provide the primary Community legislation, which confers the power on the Community institutions to make law.³, ⁴

2.1 Forms of legislation

Law made by the Community institutions is referred to as secondary legislation. According to article 249 (TEC) a range of tools is available to the Community institutions to work on the national legal systems in varying measures: ⁵

[....]

1 Defined by author

2 The European Community (EC) as on of the three ′pillars′ of the European Union (EU) is responsible for policy on the environment.

3 See: Klaus-Dieter Borchardt The ABC of Community Law, European Documentation, 3rd ed., Brussels, Luxembourg 1991, p. 25.

4 The Treaty of Amsterdam signed in 1997 amended the Treaty on European Union first signed in 1992 in Maastricht and the Treaties establishing the European Communities comprising the Treaty establishing the European Community first signed in 1992, the Treaty establishing the ECSC first signed in 1951 and the Treaty establishing the Euratom first signed in 1957.

5 Only those tools are presented which are mentioned in the following chapters.