EU Environmental Governance

The paper examines the history and current state of EU environmental governance, detailing the roles of the Commission, Parliament, Council, and Court of Justice. It highlights a systemic failure in the enforcement of environmental law by Member States and the Commission, noting that economic interests frequently override environmental concerns. The author argues that the EU's 'good governance' principles of openness and participation are poorly implemented, leaving environmental NGOs with limited influence and citizens with minimal access to justice. While the EU has a comprehensive body of legislation, the author concludes that the lack of political will makes much of it a 'paper tiger'.

• EU environmental policy has seen a decline in importance since the start of the 21st century, driven by the accession of Member States with limited environmental policies, a shift toward liberal economic thinking within EU institutions, and a lack of political will to enforce agreed-upon protections.
• Enforcement of EU environmental law is severely deficient due to the lack of administrative structures, such as inspectors, and a long, confidential infringement procedure under Articles 258 and 260 TFEU that takes an average of 47 months to 5 years to reach a judgment.
• The EU Court of Justice is generally viewed as 'environment-friendly' and has expanded EU competence in areas like criminal environmental law, but it maintains a very restrictive interpretation of 'direct and individual concern,' which effectively denies environmental NGOs and citizens standing to bring cases.
• Public participation in EU environmental decision-making is limited by language barriers (dominance of English), the technical nature of the content, and a lack of transparency in the Council's legislative process, where minutes are not made available.
• The EU has failed to achieve coherence in integrating environmental requirements into other policies, evidenced by continued financial support for the coal and nuclear industries over renewable energies and a lack of progress on biodiversity loss and chemical pollution.

APA

Krämer, L. (n.d.). EU Environmental Governance. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/20pmfmnj/eu-environmental-governance-coll-en.pdf

Chicago

Krämer, Ludwig. EU Environmental Governance. ClientEarth, n.d. https://www.clientearth.org/media/20pmfmnj/eu-environmental-governance-coll-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Krämer |first1=Ludwig |title=EU Environmental Governance |publisher=ClientEarth |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/20pmfmnj/eu-environmental-governance-coll-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{krmerndenvironmental, author = {Krämer, Ludwig}, title = {{EU Environmental Governance}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/20pmfmnj/eu-environmental-governance-coll-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }