European policies are both a curse and a blessing for environmental laggards.
On the one hand, the European Community provides elaborated policy programmes which, if effectively im-plemented, subsequently improve the level of environmental protection. A certain transfer of resources, not only financial but also in form of expertise, information, and technology may accompany the adaptation to EU environmental standards and regulations. On the other hand, European policies are usually oriented towards the problems and the level of environmental protection of the northern 'environmental leaders'. The more powerful member states, such as the UK, France, and Germany, have been able to 'upload' their policies to the European level in order to avoid competitive disadvantages for their industries. As a result, European environmental policies do not always address the most pressing problems in environmentally less developed countries of the south.