The complexity of the development of environmental policy within EU law: a case study

Budai, Péter (2024) The complexity of the development of environmental policy within EU law: a case study. ANNALES UNIVERSITATIS SCIENTIARUM BUDAPESTINENSIS DE ROLANDO EÖTVÖS NOMINATAE - SECTIO IURIDICA, 62 (1). pp. 189-204. ISSN 0524-899X

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Abstract

The paper aims to show that the development of European Union law needs further examination, which could help to understand the factors involved in the process. The expansion of competences cannot be explained with the sole focus of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the legislative work of the European Commission. For this purpose, the paper presents a case study concerning the development of environmental law within EU law until the adoption of the Single European Act. The international trends influenced the work of international organizations that later became an example for the Commission. The conduct of the Member States and the growing role of the European Parliament emphasised the importance of protecting the environment by highlighting the everyday issues relating to that matter. The Commission experienced its own personal struggles between the commissioners regarding environmental protection, which led to the adoption of action programmes and directives concerning the environment. All of these however highlighted the question of their legal basis. Finally, it was the Court of Justice that legitimised the process by providing the acceptance of the protection of the environment in its case law. These contributed to the emergence of environmental policy as a competence of European integration, which became explicitly embedded in the founding treaties with the adoption of the Single European Act.

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