EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 18.11.2008 
SEC(2008) 2852 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying document to the  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE CO MMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 
 
on implementing European Community Environmental Law 
  
SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  
{COM(2008) 773 final} 
{SEC(2008) 2851} 
 
EN 2   EN COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  
Executive Summary of the Impact Assessment 
Follow-up on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the 
European Parliament on 
Implementing European Community Environmental Law 
Executive Summary 
One of the core activities of  the European Commission is to promote compliance with 
Community law. The Commission as guardian of th e Treaty has the key role in ensuring that 
all Member States apply the rules. The objective of the Communication on Implementing European Community Environmental Law is to provide an updated insight into those 
workings: in particular, outlining some of the s ubstantial changes that have occurred since the 
Commission last adopted su ch a Communication in 1996
1 and setting out what action is 
proposed in the environmental sector to supplement the recently adopted Commission Communication: A Europe of Re sults — Applying Community Law
2 (hereafter referred to as 
“the Horizontal Communication”). 
The Communication on Implementing European  Community Environmental Law describes 
the work currently being undertaken by the Commission on the enforcement and application 
of environmental law, together with some options for improving on current practice. The 
adoption of the Horizontal Communication has given additional impetus to these 
improvements. As well as providing an insigh t into current practices, the Communication on 
Implementing European Community Environmen tal Law looks at ways in which it can 
supplement the Horizontal Communication.  
This impact assessment focuses on areas where new initiatives are proposed, trying to 
quantify their likely impact and looking at alternatives  to the actions proposed.  
The options assessed are the no-action option, under which complaints lodged with the 
Commission and petitions from the European Parliament for which the Commission provides 
an input would all continue to be  handled in Brussels and without  any particular priority being 
given to defined case groups. The advant ages and disadvantages are assessed.  
The option of placing increased emphasis on the prevention of breaches is then analysed, 
looking at what is already being done in this ar ea and at some additional measures that could 
be taken to supplement this area of work.  
The impact assessment then goes on to look at the option of the Commission providing a local 
physical presence in the Commissi on representation offices of four  Member States as a pilot 
scheme in order to bring the Commission closer  to the people and the national authorities and 
to provide for improved feedback to the Commission in Brussels regarding the situation on the ground.  
                                                
 
1 Implementing EC environmental law, October 1996. 
2 COM(2007) 225. 
 
EN 3   EN The option of the Commission becoming more focu sed in its handling of important cases is 
then also looked at, adopting the priorities outlined in th e Horizontal Communication, but 
supplementing these with priority areas in the e nvironmental sector, such as breaches of core 
responsibilities involv ing EU funding or cases that have  a trans-frontier dimension, and 
systemic breaches which are geographically wi despread or repeated despite previous 
warnings.  
Finally, the impact assessment looks at the pos itive and negative effects of the Commission 
focusing more on its own powers of investigatio n and taking environmental cases before the 
European Court of Justice.  
The impact assessment concludes that the best option is a combination of approaches which 
increases the focus on preventativ e action, launches the pilot proj ect for a local physical staff 
presence in the Commission representation offi ces of four selected Member States, and 
focuses more on its handling of important cases.