Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

Over the last few decades the protection of the environment has become an issue of great concern. As a result, this growing awareness of environmental problems has led to a development of environmental law at a local, regional, national, and international level. At every level the responsible authorities have tried to formulate adequate answers to the challenges posed by continuing environmental degradation.

Not always is it simple to determine at which level problems can be addressed most efficiently. In particular in a situation in which boundaries have gradually been taken away, it is sometimes difficult to find the best balance of competence between the various levels. The European Community (EC or Community)' provides a clear example of such a situation. With the broadening and deepening of the European Community over the past decades, areas of concern, like protection of the environment, emerged which could be better dealt with at the European level than at the national level. This is not only because most environmental problems transcend national borders, but also because the Community objective of an Internal Market which insures the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is best ensured by Community standards.

In this article we will focus on the division of competence between the European Community and national Member States. The European Community has gradually picked up environmental problems as a field of concern, and now considers it part of its major objectives. The development of the framework for European environmental legislation will be a major topic of this article. After a brief survey of the general development of EC environmental legislation, we will focus on the development of the legal bases for EC environmental policy, which provides the Community Institutions the competence to formulate environmental law and policy.

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