Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Improving the delivery of benefits from EU environment measures: building confidence through better knowledge and responsiveness

The ideas set out in this Communication respond to the December 2010 Environment Council request that the Member States and Commission enhance and improve the implementation and enforcement of EU environment legislation in order to improve the state of the environment and ensure a level playing field.

Analysis and consultation conducted in the framework of the preparations for a 7th Environmental Action Programme clearly show that enhancing and improving implementation can be considered a priority objective of European environment policy in itself.

The ambition of this Communication is to examine means of helping Member States achieve a fully systematic approach in knowledge collection and dissemination and greater responsiveness to problems on the ground. Effective access to justice is necessary but not sufficient, so it is proposed to also look at inspections and surveillance, complaint mechanisms and formalising partnerships to ensure implementation.

The response to the present Communication will feed into the preparations for the 7th Environmental Action Programme. It may also lead to specific measures being proposed by the Commission underpinned by impact assessments where necessary. When legislation aims at other objectives in addition to the environmental ones (e.g. energy legislation), the proposals set out here might need to be supplemented by specific provisions, in particular on relations with certain stakeholders.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)095: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:095:FIN

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