EU enlargement: classification of environmental legislation. A guide to help in deciding which items should be implemented upon accession by the applicant countries

EU enlargement: Classification of environmental legislation. A guide to help in deciding which items should be implemented upon accession by the applicant countries:
Negotiations for accession to the EU of several countries from Central and Eastern Europe are about to begin. The opening position of the European Commission is that the whole acquis communautaire
(i.e. the full body of legislation) must be implemented immediately upon accession, but the Commission recognises that some 'transition measures' may be agreed in the course of negotiations 'in duly justified cases'. Environmental protection is recognised as a 'major challenge for enlargement' since 'none of the candidates countries can be expected to comply fully with the acquis in the near future given their present environmental problems and the need for massive investment'.

There are some who argue that only EU legislation directly affecting the internal market needs to be implemented immediately and that the rest can wait. This report from IEEP shows that a clear line cannot be drawn between internal market measures and other environmental legislation. It lists all EU environmental legislation under different categories and is intended to stimulate discussion about which items must be implemented immediately by any country aspiring to respect environmental values.

Haigh, Nigel / Coffey, Clare
EU enlargement: Classification of environmental legislation. A guide to help in deciding which items should be implemented upon accession by the applicant countries
Institute for European Environmental Policy, London, 1997
ISBN: 1-873906-13-7
Price: £10.00

From: IEEP London, Dean Bradley House, 52 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2AG, United Kingdom. Tel: +44-(0)171-799-2244; Fax: +44-(0)171-799-2600