COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Environmental Implementation Review 2019: Policy Background Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life
Date: 2019-04-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU environmental policy, application of EU law, climate change policy, environmental law, environmental protection, governance, green economy, public health, quality of the environment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.4.2019  SWD(2019) 111 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Environmental Implementation Review 2019: Policy Background     Accompanying the document COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS    The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life   {COM(2019) 149 final} - {SWD(2019) 112 final} - {SWD(2019) 113 final} - {SWD(2019) 114 final} - {SWD(2019) 115 final} - {SWD(2019) 116 final} - {SWD(2019) 117 final} - {SWD(2019) 118 final} - {SWD(2019) 119 final} - {SWD(2019) 120 final} - {SWD(2019) 121 final} - {SWD(2019) 122 final} - {SWD(2019) 123 final} - {SWD(2019) 124 final} - {SWD(2019) 125 final} - {SWD(2019) 126 final} - {SWD(2019) 127 final} - {SWD(2019) 128 final} - {SWD(2019) 129 final} - {SWD(2019) 130 final} - {SWD(2019) 131 final} - {SWD(2019) 132 final} - {SWD(2019) 133 final} - {SWD(2019) 134 final} - {SWD(2019) 135 final} - {SWD(2019) 136 final} - {SWD(2019) 137 final} - {SWD(2019) 138 final} - {SWD(2019) 139 final}  
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

Policy background — Environmental Implementation Review 2019

I. 

About the Environmental Implementation Review 

The  2019  Environmental  Implementation  Review  is  the 
second edition of a regular cycle of analysis, dialogue and 
collaboration,  first  announced  in  20161,  to  improve  the 
implementation of existing EU environmental policy and 
legislation. The first EIR Communication and series of 28 
country reports was published in February 20172 and the 
current  set  of  reports  make  up  the  2019  package.  The 
reports aim to stimulate debate on shared environmental 
challenges  in  the  EU  and  on  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address  the  most  pressing  implementation  gaps  across 
Member States. They rely on the detailed sector-specific 
implementation  reports  collected  or 
issued  by  the 
Commission  under  specific  environmental  legislation,  in 
addition  to  the  ‘State  of  the  Environment’  reports  and 
other  reports  by  the  European  Environment  Agency. 
These  EIR  reports  will  not  replace  the  specific  legal 
instruments  and  dialogue  to  ensure  compliance  with 
binding EU rules. 

The  reports  broadly  follow  the  structure  of  the  7th 
Environmental Action Programme3, and refer to the 2030 
for  Sustainable  Development  and  related 
Agenda 
Sustainable Development  Goals (SDGs)4 to the  extent  to 
which they reflect the obligations and policy objectives of 
EU environmental law. 

The  main  challenges  identified  take  account  of  factors 
such as the impact on citizens’ quality of life, the progress 
made  to  date  in  meeting  the  EU  environmental  targets 
and the resource implications. 

entitled 

Communication 

The 
‘Environmental 
Implementation  Review  2019:  A  Europe  that  protects  its 
citizens  and  enhances  their  quality  of  life’  accompanies 
the country reports. It identifies common challenges and 
provides preliminary conclusions on possible root causes 
of poor performance by Member States. On that basis, it 
proposes structural ways forward to deliver better results 
in addition to the specific priority actions included in the 
country  reports.  The  Communication  includes  an  annex 
with the proposed actions per Member State, for ease of 
reference. 

A  key  way  to  improve  performance  is  to  develop  the 
capacity  of  environmental  authorities,  in  particular  the 
skills and expertise of their staff. To support the EIR, the 
European Commission set up the TAIEX-EIR PEER 2 PEER 
(P2P)  programme5,  to  facilitate  peer  exchange  between 

1 COM(2016) 316. 
2 COM(2017) 63. 
3 Decision 1386/2013/EU. 
4 United Nations, The Sustainable development Goals, 2018. 
5 More information about the P2P tool, including an application form 

1 

staff  in  environmental  authorities  so  that  they  can 
benefit  directly  from  good  practices  in  other  countries 
and regions. 

successfully  applied 

The  P2P  programme  is  a  practical  tool  that  provides 
tailored  support  to  Member  State  authorities  that 
implement  environmental  policy  and  legislation.  The 
Commission  has 
this  TAIEX 
instrument  for  more  than  20  years  in  enlargement  and 
recently,  with 
neighbourhood  policy  and,  more 
assistance  on  cohesion  policy  through  the  TAIEX  REGIO 
P2P  programme.  With  twenty  environmental  projects 
implemented  in  its  first  operational  year  (2018),  and  all 
Member States having been involved, this tool is fulfilling 
the  need  of  complementary  instruments  to  improve 
expertise  of  implementing  bodies  by  exchanging  their 
experiences. 

in 
key 

reviews 
of 

The  EIR  differs  from  the  OECD’s  environmental  policy 
the 
performance 
assesses 
implementation 
EU 
of 
environmental 
in  each  EU 
legislation  and  policies 
Member  State  every  two  years.  This  results  in  relatively 
concise  reports  ensuring  an  overview  of  the  progress  in 
implementation and comparability across the EU. 

that 
it 
requirements 

Policy background 

The  EIR  reports  address  not  only  environmental  experts 
but  also  other  authorities  and  the  larger  public,  and 
therefore explaining the policy context may be useful to 
in  the 
understand  the  country  specific 
reports.  Nevertheless,  to  keep  the  2019  EIR  country 
reports  concise,  some  general 
information  on  each 
individual  thematic  sectors  is  set  out  in  this  background 
document rather than in each individual report. 

information 

The general EU objectives and relevant SDGs are included 
in  the  blue  boxes.  Each  section  also  includes  links  in 
footnotes to websites where detailed information can be 
found.  More  detailed  background  information  on  EU 
environmental  policies  and  legislation  can  be  found  at 
the Europa website6. 

Each  country  report  maps  out  the  main  challenges  in 
implementing  European  environmental  policy  and 
legislation  as  well  as  good  practices,  including  points  of 
excellence  in  that  country.  Overall,  EU  environmental 
authorities  at  all  levels  have  significant  potential  to 
improve  their  performance  by 
from  one 
another. 

learning 

and a leaflet in all EU languages, is available on the EIR website. 
6 European Commission, website for the environment.  

                                                                 
 
                                                                                                        
II. 

Thematic areas 

1.  Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and competitive low-

carbon economy 

Measures towards a circular economy 

The  Circular  Economy  Action  Plan  emphasises  the  need 
to  move  towards  a  life-cycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
reusing  resources  as  much  as  possible  and  bringing 
residual  waste  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by 
developing  and  providing  access  to  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

sustained, 

inclusive  and 

Three SDGs relate to the circular economy package. SDG 
sustainable 
8  promotes 
economic  growth.  SDG  9  highlights  the  need  to  build 
resilient 
and 
sustainable  industrialisation  and  foster  innovation.  SDG 
12  encourages  countries  to  achieve  the  sustainable 
management  and  efficient  use  of  natural  resources  by 
2030. 

infrastructure, 

promote 

inclusive 

to  make 

Transforming  our  linear  economy  to  a  circular  one  is  an 
opportunity 
sustainable  and 
competitive.  This  shift  will  stimulate  investment  and 
bring both short- and long-term benefits to the economy, 
the environment and to citizens.  

it  more 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  Circular  Economy  Action 
Plan in 2015 and the setting up of a related stakeholder 
platform  in  2017,  the  European  Commission  adopted  a 
new  package  of  deliverables  in  January  20187.  This 
included  additional  initiatives  such  as:  (i)  an  EU  strategy 
for plastics; (ii) a Communication on how to  address the 
interplay  between  chemical,  product  and  waste 
legislation; (iii) a report on critical raw materials; and (iv) 
a  framework  to  monitor  progress  towards  a  circular 
economy8. 

Promoting  the  circular  economy  has  also  become  a 
recurring  priority  in  the  European  Semester  Annual 
Growth Survey since 2016.  

The  monitoring  framework  tracks  key  trends  and 
patterns to understand how the various elements of the 
circular  economy  are  developing.  The  framework  is 
composed of a set of ten key indicators, which cover each 
phase, e.g. production, consumption, waste management 
and  secondary  raw  materials,  etc.,  as  well  as  economic 
aspects such as investments, jobs, gross value added and 
innovation. 

The  number  of  EU  ecolabel  products  and  EMAS  (eco-
management and audit scheme) licensed organisations in 
a  specific  country  is  a  way  to  illustrate  the  commitment 
of  public  authorities  to  the  circular  transition  and  the 
engagement  of  private-sector  companies  and  national 
stakeholders. 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

can 

turn 

challenges 

SMEs 
into 
environmental 
opportunities,  for  example  by  taking  resource  efficiency 
actions,  gaining  public  support  and  offering  green 
products  and  services.  The  SME  performance  review9  is 
one  of  the  main  tools  the  Commission  uses  to  monitor 
and  assess  SMEs’  progress  on  resource  efficiency  and 
other environmental indicators. 

Eco-innovation 
The  Eco-Innovation  Scoreboard  (ECO-IS)10  developed  for 
the  Commission  by  the  Eco-Innovation  Observatory 
provides an overview of EU Member States’ performance 
on  eco-innovation  in  five  areas:  eco-innovation  inputs, 
eco-innovation 
outputs, 
resource  efficiency  outcomes  and 
socio-economic 
outcomes. 

eco-innovation 

activities, 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 
(i)  fully 
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
landfill  diversion 
targets, etc.; 
(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms; and  
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 

SDG 12,  mentioned above,  supports actions on the field 
of waste management. 

The EU’s approach to waste management is based on the 
‘waste  hierarchy’,  defined 
in  the  Waste  Framework 
Directive.  It  sets  out  an  order  of  priority  when  shaping 
waste  policy.  The  hierarchy  is  as  follows:  prevention, 
(preparing for) reuse, recycling, recovery and, as the least 
preferred option, disposal (which includes landfilling and 

7 European Commission, 2018 Circular Economy Package. 
8 COM(2018) 029. 

9 European Commission, 2018 SME performance Review. 
10 European Commission, Eco-innovation scoreboard. 

2 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

incineration  without  energy  recovery).  The  progress 
towards reaching recycling and landfill reduction targets 
as  well  as  adopting  adequate  Waste  management 
plans/Waste prevention programmes continue to be the 
key  means  of  measuring  Member  States’  performance, 
along  the  indicators  on  waste  generation  and  waste 
treatment types.  

The adoption by the co-legislators of the amendments to 
waste legislation11 and the recent proposal to reduce the 
impact  of  certain  plastics  on  the  environment  are 
example of the combined efforts at European Union level 
to  support  the  circular  economy  and  improve  waste 
management.  However,  in  line  with  the  EIR  scope,  this 
report  focuses  on  the  upcoming  recycling  targets  (50 % 
by  2020)  and  on  management  of  municipal  waste  in 
general. The implementation of the new rules and targets 
will be assessed in the following EIR cycles. 

Climate change 

The EU has committed to undertaking ambitious climate 
action internationally as well as in the EU, having ratified 
the Paris Climate Agreement on 5 October 2016. The EU 
targets are to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 
20 % by 2020 and by at least 40 % by 2030, compared to 
1990.  As  a  long-term  target,  the  EU  aims  to  reduce  its 
emissions  by  80-95  %  by  2050,  as  part  of  the  efforts 
required by developed countries as a group. Adapting to 
the adverse effects of climate change is vital to alleviate 
its  already  visible  effects  and  improve  preparedness  for 
and resilience to future impacts. 

SDG 13 aims to deliver on the commitment to the United 
Nations  Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change  and 
operationalise  the  Green  Climate  Fund.  It  aims  to 
strengthen countries’ resilience and capacity to adapt to 
climate-related hazards and natural disasters. 

The EU has the necessary legislation in place to meet the 
EU climate targets for 2020 and 2030. The EU emissions 
trading system (EU ETS)12 covers all large greenhouse gas 
(GHG)  emitters  in  the  industry,  power  and  aviation 
sectors in the EU. This system is a cornerstone of the EU 
policy  to  combat  climate  change  and  a  key  tool  for 
reducing  GHG  emissions  in  a  cost-effective  way.  The  EU 
ETS  applies  in  all  Member  States  and  has  a  very  high 
compliance  rate.  Each  year,  installations  cover  around 
99 %  of  their  emissions  with  the  required  number  of 
allowances.  The  competent  authorities  carry  out 
different  compliance  checks  on  the  annual  emissions 
reports  submitted  by  installations.  For  emissions  not 

covered  by  the  EU  ETS,  Member  States  have  binding 
national targets under the effort sharing legislation13. 

All EU countries are required to monitor their emissions 
under  the  EU’s  GHG  monitoring  mechanism,  which  sets 
internal  reporting  rules  based  on 
the  EU’s  own 
internationally  agreed  obligations.  While  all  Member 
States  have  complied  with  the  reporting  requirements, 
work is ongoing to improve completeness and timeliness 
of the reporting. 

Transparent  and  coordinated  planning  will  help  the  EU 
meet  the  targets  for  2030  and  beyond.  Member  States 
are  currently  preparing  integrated  national  energy  and 
climate plans  (NECPs) and long-term climate and energy 
strategies.  The  first  NECPs  will  cover  the  period  from 
2021  until  2030,  and  will  be  based  on  an  iterative 
governance  process  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission. In line with the Paris Agreement, the EU and 
its Member  States will also prepare mid-century climate 
strategies by 2020. 

EU sector-specific climate legislation has been adopted to 
incentivise  emissions  reductions  from  transport,  the 
maritime sector and fluorinated gases used in products. 

target 

is  calculated 

Transport is responsible for almost a quarter of Europe’s 
GHG  emissions  and  is  the  main  cause  of  air  pollution  in 
cities. The transport sector has not seen the same steady 
decrease  in  GHG  emissions  as  other  sectors  since  1990. 
EU legislation14 sets binding 2020/2021 EU fleet-wide CO2 
emission  targets  for  new  cars  and  vans.  On  this  basis,  a 
specific  emissions 
for  each 
manufacturer. If manufacturers exceed their target, they 
have  to  pay  an  excess  emissions  premium.  Therefore, 
Member  States  have  to  monitor  and  report  CO2 
emissions  data  for  all  new  vehicle  registrations  to  the 
European Environment Agency every year. EU legislation 
also requires that Member States ensure that consumers 
are provided with relevant information, including a label 
with  the  car’s  fuel  efficiency  and  CO2  emissions,  to 
encourage  their  use  of  more  efficient  vehicles.  Fuel 
quality  is  another  important  element  in  reducing  GHG 
emissions  from  transport.  EU  legislation  requires  the 
GHG intensity of vehicle fuels to be cut by up to 10 % by 
2020. 

From  2018,  large  ships  using  EU  ports  have  to  monitor 
and report their duly verified annual emissions and other 
relevant  information.  The  first  monitoring  reports  must 
be submitted to the Commission by 30 April 2019. 

The  EU  has  adopted  several  pieces  of  legislation  to 
control  emissions  from  fluorinated  greenhouse  gases 

11 Publications Office of the European Union, Waste Package (Official 
Journal of the European Union, L 150, 14 June 2018). 
12  European Commission, EU emissions trading system. 

13 European Commission: Effort sharing: Member States' emission 
targets. 
14 European Commission, Road transport: Reducing CO2 emissions from 
vehicles. 

3 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

(F-gases), including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The ‘MAC 
Directive’15  applies  to  air  conditioning  systems  used  in 
small motor vehicles, and the ‘F-gas Regulation’16 covers 
all  key  applications  in  which  F-gases  are  used,  gradually 
reducing the amount of hydrofluorocarbons that may be 
placed  on  the  market  in  the  EU,  so  as  to  limit  their 
climate impact. Thanks to the new F-gas Regulation, the 
EU’s F-gas emissions are expected to be cut by two thirds 
by  2030  compared  with  2014  levels.  The  Regulation  is 
directly applicable  in all Member  States. Member States 
had to put in place training and certification programmes 
and  rules  for  penalties  and  notify  the  Commission  of 
them by 2017. 
Another  EU  Decision17  sets  out  accounting  rules  for 
emissions and removals of GHG resulting from land use, 
land-use  change  and  forestry  activities,  as  a  first  step 
towards  including  those  activities  in  the  EU’s  emissions 
reduction commitment. 
The  EU  strategy  on  adaptation  to  climate  change18, 
adopted  in  2013,  aims  to  make  Europe  more  climate-
resilient by promoting positive action by Member States, 
better-informed  decision-making 
encouraging 
adaptation  in  key  vulnerable  sectors.  The  strategy  sets 
out  a  consistent  and  well-coordinated  approach  to 
improve  the  preparedness  and  capacity  of  all  levels  of 
government to respond to the impacts of climate change.  

and 

15 European Commission, Mobile air-conditioning systems (MACs). 
16 European Commission, Fluorinated greenhouse gases. 
17 Regulation on the integration of land use, land use change and 
forestry. 
18 European Commission, EU strategy on adaptation to climate change. 

4 

 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

2.  Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Nature and biodiversity 

in  the  EU  by  2020. 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity 
full 
implementation  of  the  Birds  and  Habitats  Directives  to 
achieve  favourable  conservation  status  of  protected 
species and habitats. It also requires that the agricultural 
and  forest  sectors  help  to  maintain  and 
improve 
biodiversity. 

It  requires 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  protect,  restore  and 
promote  the  sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems, 
sustainably  manage  forests,  combat  desertification,  halt 
biodiversity loss and halt and reverse land degradation. 

The  1992  EU  Habitats  Directive19  and  the  1979  Birds 
Directive20  are 
the  European 
the  cornerstone  of 
legislation  aimed  at  conserving  the  EU’s  wildlife.  Natura 
2000, the largest coordinated network of protected areas 
in the world, is one of the key instruments to implement 
the  directives’  objectives  and  to  ensure  the  long-term 
protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe’s  most 
valuable and threatened species and natural habitats and 
the ecosystems they underpin. 

The Birds and Habitats Directives require Member States 
to establish a coherent national network of Natura 2000 
sites.  The  Commission  assesses  compliance  with  this 
requirement  individually  for  each  species  and  habitat 
type  occurring  on  the  national  territory  of  Member 
States.  The latest  update of this assessment  was  carried 
out  by  the  Commission  with  the  assistance  of  the 
European Environment Agency. 

A  key  milestone  in  meeting  the  directives’  objectives  is 
the  national  designation  of  Natura  2000  sites  as  special 
areas of conservation under the Habitats Directive and as 
special  protection  areas  under  the  Birds  Directive21.  Key 
indicators  to  measure  Member  States’  performance  are 
their progress on: (i) selecting the most  suitable  sites to 
establish  a  coherent  Natura  2000  network;  (ii)  legal 
designation  of  the  site  at  national 
level;  and  (iii) 
maintaining  or  improving  the  conservation  status  of 
species and habitats of EU importance. 

Following  a  thorough  evaluation  of  the  EU's  nature 
protection laws, in April 2017 the European Commission 

adopted an action plan to improve their implementation 
and  boost  their  contribution  towards  reaching  the  EU's 
biodiversity  targets  for  2020.  The  EU  Action  plan  for 
nature,  people  and  the  economy  proposed  15  concrete 
actions to be carried out between 2017 and 2019. 

Maintaining and restoring ecosystems and 
their services 

The EU biodiversity strategy aims to maintain and restore 
including  green 
ecosystems  and  their  services  by 
infrastructure in spatial planning and restoring at least 15 
%  of  degraded  ecosystems  by  2020.  The  EU  green 
infrastructure  strategy  promotes  the  incorporation  of 
green infrastructure into related plans and programmes. 

Green  infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social  benefits  by  offering  natural  solutions  that  help 
overcome  fragmentation  of  habitats  and  preserve  or 
restore ecological connectivity. It improves the resilience 
of ecosystems, thereby ensuring the continued provision 
of ecosystem services. Finally, it helps people understand 
the  benefits  of  nature  and  can  also  help  mobilise  the 
investments that will maximise these benefits. 

Estimating natural capital 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  calls  on  Member  States  to 
map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services    in  their  national territories  by  2014,  assess  the 
economic  value  of  such  services  and  integrate  these 
values  into  accounting  and  reporting  systems  at  EU  and 
national level by 2020. 

Business  and  biodiversity  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice are key tools for promoting and 
facilitating    natural  capital  assessments  among  business 
and  financial  service  providers,  for  instance  via  the 
Natural  Capital  Coalition’s  protocol22.  The  assessments 
contribute  to  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy  by  helping 
private  businesses  better  understand  and  value  both 
their  impact  and  dependence  on  nature.  Biodiversity 
platforms  have  been  established  at  EU  level23  and  in  a 
number of Member States. 

19 European Commission, Habitats Directive. 
20 European Commission, Birds Directive. 
21 Sites of community importance (SCIs) are designated under the 
Habitats Directive whereas special areas of protection (SPAs) are 
designated under the Birds Directive. Coverage figures do not add up as 
some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special areas of conservation (SACs) are 
SCIs designated afterwards by the Member States. 

22 Natural Capital Coalition, Natural Capital Protocol. 
23 Business and Biodiversity, The European Business and Biodiversity 
Campaign aims to promote the business case for biodiversity in the EU 
Member States through workshops, seminars and a cross-media 
communication strategy. 

5 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

Invasive alien species 

Under  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy,  the  following  are  to 
be achieved by 2020:  
(i) invasive alien species identified;  
(ii) priority species controlled or eradicated; and  
(iii)  pathways  managed  to  prevent  new  invasive  species 
from disrupting European biodiversity.  

This  is  supported  by  the  Invasive  Alien  Species  (IAS) 
Regulation, which entered into force on 1 January 2015. 

Invasive  alien  species 24  are  animals  and  plants  that  are 
introduced  accidentally  or  deliberately  into  a  natural 
environment  where  they  are  not  normally  found,  with 
potentially  serious  negative  consequences  for  the  new 
environment.  They  are  a  major  threat  to  native  plants 
and  animals  in  Europe  and  cause  damage  worth  billions 
of euro to the EU economy every year. 

The  IAS  Regulation  provides  for  a  procedure  to  identify 
invasive  alien  species  of  EU  concern25  and  also  the 
appropriate measures to be taken across the EU on such 
species.  These  measures  relate  to  prevention,  early 
detection  and  rapid  eradication  and  management.  Both 
Member  States  and  the  European  Commission  may 
propose  species  to  be  included  in  the  list,  based  on  risk 
assessments. 

Soil protection 

The  EU  soil  thematic  strategy  underlines  the  need  to 
ensure a  sustainable use of soils.  This  entails preventing 
further  soil  degradation  and  preserving  its  functions,  as 
well as restoring degraded soils. The 2011 Roadmap to a  
Resource Efficient Europe states that by 2020, EU policies 
must  take  into  account  their  direct  and  indirect  impact 
on land use. 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  tackle  desertification, 
restore degraded land and soil — including land affected 
by  desertification,  drought  and  floods  —  and  strive  to 
achieve a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030. 

Soil is an important resource for life and the economy. It 
provides  food,  fibre  and  biomass  for  renewable  energy, 
carbon  sequestration,  water  purification  and  flood 
regulation, raw material, building material and more. Soil 
is a fragile finite resource and it is increasingly degrading 
in  the  EU.  Currrent  land  use  patterns  also  increase 
fragmentation  of  habitats.  Soil  protection  is  indirectly 
addressed  by  EU  policies  in  areas  such  as  agriculture, 

water, waste, chemicals, and the prevention of industrial 
pollution. 

Soil  erosion  by  water  is  a  natural  process,  which  can  be 
aggravated  by  human  activities  such  as  inappropriate 
agricultural  practices,  deforestation,  forest  fires  or 
construction. 

The  soil’s  organic  matter  plays  an  important  role  in  the 
carbon cycle and in climate change. Soils are the second 
largest  carbon  absorbers  in  the  world  after  the  oceans. 
Soil  organic  compound,  which  provides  nutrients  to 
plants  and  improves  water  availability,  is  an  important 
indicator  for  soil  health  and  biodiversity.  The  main 
human-caused  drivers  of  the  decline  in  organic  carbon 
content  in  soils  are  changes  in  land  use  (especially 
converting  grassland  into  cropland  and  deforestation), 
drainage  and  loss  of  wetlands  and  harmful  agricultural 
practices.  A  loss  of  soil  organic  matter  can  increase  the 
risk of erosion and lead to a decline in soil structure and 
quality. 

In February 2017, the Commission published an updated 
inventory  and  assessment  of  soil  protection  policy 
instruments  in  EU  countries26,  in  close  cooperation  with 
the soil experts appointed by the Member States. 

EU  financing  instruments  can  play  an  important  role 
protecting soil. The European Agricultural Fund for Rural 
Development  can  help  increase  soil  organic  matter  and 
reduce  soil  erosion,  while  the  European  Regional 
Development  Fund  can  support  the  rehabilitation  of 
industrial sites and contaminated land. 

Marine protection 

EU coastal and marine policy and legislation require that 
by  2020  the  impact  of  pressures  on  marine  waters  be 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status  and  ensure  that  coastal  zones  are  managed 
sustainably. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
for 
the  oceans,  seas  and  marine  resources 
use 
sustainable development. 

The  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive27  aims  to 
achieve  good  environmental  status  of  the  EU’s  marine 
waters  by  2020.  To  that  end,  Member  States  must 
develop  a  marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and 
cooperate  with  the  EU  countries  that  share  the  same 
marine (sub)region. 
The  Maritime  Spatial  Planning  Directive28  and  the  2002 

24 European Commission, Invasive Alien Species. 
25 European Commission, List of Invasive Alien Species of Union 
concern. 

26 European Commission, Assessment of soil protection policy.  
27 Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC. 
28 Directive 2014/89/EU. 

6 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

led 

Council 

Integrated  Coastal  Zone 
EU  Recommendation  on 
Management29 
Decision 
the 
to 
2010/631/EU30,  which  introduced  a  framework  for  this 
type of planning. Furthermore, the ongoing coastal work 
prompted  by  the  Water  Framework  Directive31  sets  a 
basis  for  the  use  of  maritime  space  —  including  coastal 
areas  —  to  ensure  human  activities  at  sea  take  place  in 
an efficient, safe, climate-resilient and sustainable way. 

29 European Union, Recommendation on the implementation of 
Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Europe. 
30 Decision 2010/631/EU adopts the Mediterranean Protocol on 
Integrated Coastal Zone Management into the EU acquis. 
31 EU Water Framework Directive. 

7 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

3.  Ensuring citizens’ health and quality of life 

Air quality 

EU clean air  policy and legislation require the significant 
improvement  of  air  quality  in  the  EU,  moving  the  EU 
closer to the quality recommended by the World Health 
Organisation.  Air  pollution  and  its  impacts  on  human 
health,  ecosystems  and  biodiversity  should  be  further 
reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding critical 
loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening  efforts  to 
reach  full  compliance  with  EU  air  quality  legislation  and 
defining strategic targets and actions beyond 2020. 

that 

legislation32 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  body  of  air 
quality 
introduces  health-based 
standards  and  objectives  for  a  number  of  air  pollutants. 
As  part  of  this,  Member  States  must  ensure  that  up-to-
date information on ambient concentrations of different 
air  pollutants  across  their  area  is  routinely  reported  to 
the  Commission  and  made  available  to  the  public.  In 
addition, 
the  National  Emission  Ceilings  Directive 
provides  targets  for  emission  volume  reductions  for  the 
main pollutants at national level. 

Air quality has generally improved in the European Union 
(EU)  over  the  last  decades  largely  thanks  to  the  EU's  air 
quality  policies,  which  have  succeeded  in  curbing  a 
number  of  pollutants.  However,  in  most  Member  States 
the  pollution  concentration  limits  for  one  or  several 
harmful  air  pollutants  are  still  widely  exceeded.  The 
situation  is  especially  severe  in  urban  areas,  where  a 
majority  of  Europeans  live.  This  directly  affects  health 
and  the  quality  of  life,  causing  serious  diseases  such  as 
asthma,  cardiovascular  problems  and  lung  cancer.  Air 
pollution continues to be the number one environmental 
cause  of  premature  death  in  the  EU,  with  estimates  of 
more  than  400  000  premature  deaths  per  year.33  This 
also comes at a high price to society,  with total external 
health-related  cost  estimates  in  the  range  of  €330-940 
billion per year34.  

The  Clean  Air  Programme  for  Europe  (COM  (2013)  918) 
reconfirmed the overall strategic objective to achieve full 
compliance with existing air quality standards across the 
EU as soon as possible. 

Support  and  guidance  to  compliance  for  the  Member 
States  have  been  provided  through  the  previous 
Environmental 
Implementation  Review;  Clean  Air 
Dialogues  &  Clean  Air  Forum;  the  Air  Quality  Expert 

Committee  /  Expert  Group; 
funding  opportunities 
(European  Regional  Development  Fund,  Cohesion  Fund, 
Life  programmes);  the  programme  for  cooperation  with 
judges. 

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions 
are to: 
(i) protect air, water and soil; 
(ii) prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency; and  
(iv) clean up contaminated sites.  

To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 
industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial Emissions Directive35 (IED). 

While  being 
important  for  economic  development, 
industrial  activities  can  have  a  significant  detrimental 
impact on the environment.  

The EU acquis, and in particular the  Industrial Emissions 
Directive  (IED)  aims  to  prevent  and  reduce  harmful 
industrial  emissions  at  source  through  a  permit  system 
for large  installations based  on the use of best  available 
techniques that are energy and resource efficient. It also 
incorporates  tightened  emission  limit  values  (ELVs)  for 
combustion  plants  and  time-limitation  of  a  number  of 
flexibilities for meeting the ELVs, as well as an advanced 
inspection  regime  requiring  risk  based  plans  and 
programs. 

The  industrial  sectors  known  to  be  responsible  for  the 
largest  burden  to  the  environment  in  terms  of  air 
emissions  are:  (i)  energy;  (ii)  metals;  and  (iii)  ‘other 
activities’ (mostly the intensive rearing of poultry or pigs 
and surface treatments). 

Noise 
The  Environmental  Noise  Directive36  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoiding,  preventing  and  reducing 
the harmful effects of exposure to environmental noise. 

Excessive  noise,  such  as  from  aircrafts,  railways  and 
roads,  is  a  major  cause  of  ill  health37.  Noise  can  cause 
cardiovascular  diseases, 
ischaemic  heart 
disease  and  stroke,  and  can  lead  to  premature  death. 

including 

32 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards. 
33 EEA, 2018, Air Quality in Europe – 2018 Report. European 
Environment Agency. 
34 See Impact Assessment underpinning the Clean Air Programme for 
Europe SWD(2013) 532 final. 

35 Directive 2010/75/EU. 
36 Directive 2002/49/EC. 
37 WHO/JRC, Burden of disease from environmental noise, Fritschi, L., 
Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), World Health 
Organisation, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark. 2011. 

8 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

Noise can also interrupt sleep, with disruptive effects on 
the  endocrine  system,  cause  people  discomfort  and 
reduce children’s capacity for learning.  

In the EU, every one in four citizens is exposed to noise at 
levels  that  are  harmful  to  their  health.  A  preliminary 
assessment  has  determined  the  number  of  premature 
deaths to be at least 16 600 per year38.  

To  address  this,  EU  law  requires  that  the  exposure  to 
environmental noise is assessed and mapped — even if it 
does  not  set  limit  values  for  noise  —  to  ensure  that 
information on noise and its effects is made available to 
the public. Member States have also had to adopt action 
plans to prevent or reducing environmental noise and to 
maintain  environments  where  noise  levels  are  good.  A 
first  analysis  by  the  European  Environmental  Agency 
shows that between 2007 and 2012 road noise exposure 
in cities has decreased only in 60 % of cases. 

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive  will  ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

SDG  6  requires  countries  to  ensure  access  to  water  and 
integrated  water 
sanitation 
resources management. 

for  everyone 

through 

The  overall  objectives  of  EU  water  policy  and  legislation 
are  to  protect  the  EU’s  water  resources,  to  safeguard 
human  health  and  to  reduce  the  consequences  of 
flooding.  The  existing  body  of  EU  water  law39  puts  in 
place  a  protective  framework  to  ensure  high  standards 
for  all  bodies  of  water  in  the  EU  and  addresses  specific 
pollution  sources  (for  example  from  agriculture,  urban 
areas  and  industrial  activities).  It  also  requires  that  the 
projected  impacts  of  climate  change  are  integrated  into 
the  corresponding  planning  instruments  (e.g.  river  basin 
management plans and flood risk management plans). 

River  Basin  Management  Plans  coupled  with  the  new 
Flood Risk Management Plans, which are required by the 
Water  Framework  Directive  and  Floods  Directive 

38 European Environmental Agency, Environmental noise. 
39 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC); the Urban 
Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC); the Drinking Water 
Directive (98/83/EC); the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC); the 
Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC). 

improve  the  water 
respectively,  can  protect  and 
environment  and ensure the sustainable use of water in 
the  EU.  This  includes  surface  freshwaters  such  as  lakes 
and rivers, groundwater, estuaries and coastal waters up 
to one nautical mile. 

Chemicals 

The  EU  seeks  to  ensure  that  by  2020  chemicals  are 
produced and used in ways that minimise any significant 
adverse effects on human health and the environment.  

SDG  3.9  aims  to  substantially  reduce  the  number  of 
deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and from 
air, water and soil pollution and contamination by 2030. 

The exposure to hazardous chemicals can seriously harm 
the environment and human health. The environmentally 
sound management and safe use of chemicals is the main 
objective  of  EU  chemicals  legislation.  There  is  also  a 
single  market  objective:  the  legislation  ensures  the  free 
circulation  of  substances  on  the  internal  market  while 
increasing competitiveness and innovation. 

Reducing the harmful effects of chemicals is also integral 
to  EU policy and law on water management, air  quality 
and waste management. 

(REACH40, 

chemicals 

legislation 

Horizontal 
the 
Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation41, 
and legislation on biocidal products and plant  protection 
products42),  provides  across  the  whole  EU  baseline 
protection  for  human  health  and  the  environment  and 
ensures 
for  economic 
operators. 

stability  and  predictability 

The  REACH  and  CLP  Regulations  are  applied  directly  by 
Member  States,  who  must  report  on  implementation 
every  5  years.  In  2016,  the  European  Chemicals  Agency 
(ECHA)  published  a  report  on  REACH  and  the  CLP 
Regulation43,  but  there 
is  no  comprehensive  and 
representative overview to date on how these laws have 
been implemented in each Member State. 

As  part  of  their  enforcement  activities,  still  being 
developed,  most  Member  States  carry  out  awareness-
raising activities and promote the use of alternative test 
methods (instead of testing on animals). Member States 
exchange  experiences  within  ECHA’s  Enforcement 
Forum44. 

40 OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 
41 OJ L 252, 31.12.2006, p. 1. 
42 Plant Protection Products Regulation (EC) 1107/2009,   Biocidal 
Products Regulation (EU) 528/2012 
43 European Chemicals Agency, Report on the Operation of REACH and 
CLP 2016. 
44 ECHA, Enforcement Forum. 

9 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

Green  Capital  Award  (see  below).  The  ‘Green  City  Tool’ 
also  offers  advice  and  examples  of  good  practice  for 
‘greening up’ cities. 

The EU encourages cities to become greener and spread 
funding. 
a  positive  example  through  awards  and 
Examples  include  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  for  cities 
with  more  than  100 000  inhabitants  and  the  EU  Green 
Leaf  initiative  for  cities  and  towns  with  between  20 000 
and 100 000 inhabitants. 

Through the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, 
the  EU  encourages  local  action  on  climate  mitigation, 
adaptation  and  energy  efficiency.  Since  its  launch  in 
2008,  more  than  7 300  local  authorities  in  the  EU  have 
announced 
their  GHG 
emissions.  A  total  of  891  signatories  in  the  EU  have 
declared their intention to develop strategies to adapt to 
climate change. 

intention 

reduce 

their 

to 

Through  its  research  framework  programme,  Horizon 
2020,  the  EU  invests  more  than  EUR  200  million  up  to 
2020  into  developing  and  demonstrating  nature-based 
solutions  in  urban  areas.  Complementarily,  the  ERDF 
supports Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) conducted in the 
period 2014-2020 to test new and unproven solutions for 
urban  challenges.  The  UIA  initiative  has  a  total  ERDF 
budget of EUR 372 million for that period.  

The  Forum  coordinates  various  enforcement  initiatives, 
such  as  the  REACH-EN-FORCE  (REF)  projects,  which  aim 
to  harmonise  enforcement  in  each  Member  State  and 
check  the  current 
industry  compliance  on 
particular obligations. 

level  of 

Legislative  provisions  covering  endocrine  disrupting 
chemicals  have  been  introduced  into  REACH,  as  well  as 
the biocidal products (BP) and plant protection products 
identifying  endocrine 
(PPP)  regulations.  Criteria  for 
disruptors  have  been  included  in  both  PPP  and  BP 
regulations and came into force in 2017. 

Under  the  Rotterdam  Convention,  chemicals  subject  to 
the  Prior  Informed  Consent  (PIC) Regulation45  are  also 
included in the ECHA Enforcement Forum’s activities. 

Restriction  of  production,  export-import,  safe  handling 
and  environmentally  safe  disposal  of  the  persistent 
organic  pollutants  (POPs)  are  governed  by  the  POPs 
Regulation46. 

Making cities more sustainable  

EU policy on the urban environment encourages cities to 
put  policies  in  place  for  sustainable  urban  planning  and 
design.  These  should  include  innovative  approaches  to 
urban  public  transport  and  mobility,  climate  adaptation 
and  resilience,  sustainable  buildings,  energy  efficiency, 
social  inclusion,  health  and  well-being  of  citizens  and 
urban biodiversity conservation. 

SDG11  aims  to  make  cities  and  human  settlements 
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Around  75 %  of  the  EU  population  live  in  urban  areas. 
Urban  areas  present  particular  challenges  to  the 
environment  and  human  health,  but  they  also  provide 
opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources. 

issues 

The  Member  States,  European  institutions,  cities  and 
stakeholders  have  prepared  an  ‘Urban  Agenda  for  the 
EU’  (incorporating  the  smart  cities  initiative)  to  tackle 
these 
their 
comprehensively, 
connections with social and economic challenges. Under 
this  Urban  Agenda,  12  partnerships  will  be  formed  for 
the urban challenges identified, which include air quality 
and  housing,  urban  mobility,  energy  transition,  climate 
adaptation,  and  sustainable  use  of  land  and  Nature-
Based Solutions. 

including 

In  this  context,  during  the  2018  Green  Week,  the 
European Commission launched a new voluntary tool for 
cities  to  assess  and  benchmark  their  environmental 
performance for the indicators covered by the European 

45 ECHA, Chemicals subject to PIC. 
46 OJ L 158, 30.4.2004. 

10 

                                                                 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

III. Enabling framework: Implementation tools 

4.  Green taxation, green public procurement, environmental funding and 

investments 

Environmental funding and investments 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Fund  (ESIF)  rules 
oblige  Member  States  to  promote  environment  and 
climate  in  their  funding  strategies  and  programmes  for 
economic, 
rural 
development and maritime policy. 

social  and 

territorial 

cohesion, 

Achieving sustainability goals requires the mobilisation of 
public  and  private  sources  of  financing.  For  its  part,  the 
Commission  adopted  an  action  plan  in  March  2018  on 
financing  sustainable  growth48.  Making  good  use  of  the 
European Structural and Investment Funds49, not only by 
adequate  planning  but  also  when  spending,  is  essential 
for  meeting  the  environmental  goals  and  integrating 
them  into  other  policy  areas.  The  Juncker  Investment 
Plan  for  Europe,  the  "Juncker  Plan",  also  supports 
projects  in  the  environment  and  resource  efficiency 
sector,  namely  through  the  European  Fund  for  Strategic 
Investments  (EFSI)  providing  a  first 
loss  guarantee 
allowing the EIB to invest in more, often riskier, projects. 
LIFE+ can provide financial support to prepare developing 
innovative  projects  in  the  environmental  domain  and 
collecting the necessary private and public funding. 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful 
subsidies 

incentives, 

Financial 
taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments  are  effective  and  efficient  ways  to  meet 
environmental  policy  objectives.  The  circular  economy 
action  plan  encourages  their  use.  Environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  are  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  the  energy  union  governance 
process. 

Taxing pollution and resource use encourages consumers 
to  make  socially  and  environmentally  beneficial  choices. 
It  also  generates  budget  revenues.  Tax  systems  biased 
towards  more polluting technologies generate  lower tax 
revenues and higher healthcare and clean-up costs. 

Green public procurement 

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member  States  to  take  further  steps  to  apply  green 
procurement  criteria  to  at  least  50 %  of  public  tenders. 
The European Commission is helping to increase the use 
of  public  procurement  as  a  strategic  tool  to  support 
environmental protection. 

Green  public  procurement  (GPP)  encourages  public 
authorities  to  procure  goods  and  services  that  have  a 
reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle 
when  compared  to  comparable  goods  and  services  that 
would otherwise be procured. 

The purchasing power of public procurement amounts to 
around EUR 1.8 trillion in the EU (approximately 14 % of 
GDP).  A  substantial  proportion  of  this  money  goes  to 
sectors  with  a  high  environmental 
impact  such  as 
construction  or  transport.  Therefore,  GPP  can  help  to 
significantly lower the negative impact of public spending 
on  the  environment  and  can  help  support  sustainable 
innovative businesses. The Commission has proposed EU 
GPP criteria47. 

47 In the Communication COM(2008) 400 the Commission 
recommended the creation of a process for setting common GPP 
criteria. The basic concept of GPP relies on having clear, verifiable, 
justifiable and ambitious environmental criteria for products and 
services, based on a life-cycle approach and scientific evidence base. 

48 European Commission, 2018, Action Plan on Financing Sustainable 
Growth. 
49 ESIF comprises five funds — the European Regional Development 
Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund (ESF), 
the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and the 
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The ERDF, CF and ESF 
together form the Cohesion Policy funds (N.B. Belgium does not receive 
funds from the Cohesion Fund). 

11 

                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

5.  Strengthening environmental governance 

SDG  16  aims  to  provide  access  to  justice  and  building 
effective,  accountable  and  inclusive  institutions  at  all 
levels.  SDG  17  aims  to  improve  implementation,  policy 
coordination  and  policy  coherence,  stimulate  science, 
technology  and  innovation,  establish  partnerships  and 
develop measurements of progress. 

In  its  Communication  that  accompanied  the  2017  EIR 
country  reports,  the  Commission  identified  five  root 
causes  of  implementation  challenges  across  the  EU 
Member States: 

1. 

2. 

3. 
4. 
5. 

ineffective  coordination  among  local,  regional  and 
national authorities; 
lack  of  administrative  capacity  and 
financing; 
lack of knowledge and data; 
insufficient compliance assurance mechanisms; and 
lack of integration and policy coherence. 

insufficient 

requirements 

These are addressed in each country report alongside the 
legal 
for  environmental 
in  place 
governance. 
The  Commission  adopted  a  Communication50  on  ‘EU 
actions  to 
improve  environmental  compliance  and 
governance’ and established a collaborative platform (the 
Environmental  Compliance  and  Governance  Forum)  for 
Member States to work together to address these cross-
cutting  challenges.  The  Commission  also  launched  a 
project51  on 
‘development  of  an  assessment 
framework  on  environmental  governance’.  Evidence 
collected  by  this  project  has  been  used,  among  other 
sources, 
the  policy 
background. 

this  section  of 

to  underpin 

the 

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information;  
(ii) public participation in decision making; and  
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.  

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and  business  that  environmental  information  is  shared 
efficiently  and  effectively52.  Public  participation  allows 

50 COM(2018) 10. 
51 Institute for European Environmental Policy, Development of an 
assessment framework on environmental governance in EU Member 
States. 
52 The Aarhus Convention, the Access to Environmental Information 
Directive, 2003/4/EC and the INSPIRE Directive, 2007/2 together create 

authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use  national  courts  to 
protect  the  environment.  It  includes  the  right  to  bring 
legal challenges (‘legal standing’). 

Citizens can have a more effective role in protecting the 
environment  if  they  can  rely  on  the  three  pillars  of  the 
Aarhus  Convention  described  above.  Equally,  greater 
public involvement will help improve the acceptance and 
coherence of various development  projects, and thus to 
improve the business and social environment. 

Environmental information 

It  is  useful  to  public  authorities,  the  general  public  and 
businesses  that  environmental  information  is  shared 
efficiently  and  effectively.  Businesses  and  public 
authorities  should  therefore  prepare  reports  on  their 
environment-related  activities  and  actively  disseminate 
increasingly  through 
the 
electronic means. 

information  to  the  public, 

Public participation 

The public’s participation in the decision  making process 
is  important  for  ensuring  that  the  relevant  authority 
takes its decision on the best possible basis. 

Access to justice 

Access to justice in environmental matters involves a set 
of  guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  their  associations 
to  challenge,  before  a  court,  acts  or  omissions  of  the 
for 
relevant  public  administration. 
decentralised implementation of EU environmental law. 

is  a 

tool 

It 

In  the  first  EIR  round,  the  assessment  focused  on  legal 
standing  (i.e.  the  ability  of  a  party  to  demonstrate 
sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action 
challenged), which is crucial for access to justice and the 
related  costs.  In  addition,  the  assessment  systematically 
analysed  the  availability  of  practical  information  to  the 
public  for  the  first  time.  This  EIR  looks  at  how  well 
Member  States  explain  access  to  justice  rights  to  the 
public, and at legal standing and other major barriers to 
bringing cases on nature and air pollution for a court. 

a legal foundation for the sharing of environmental information 
between public authorities and with the public. This EIR focuses on 
INSPIRE. 

12 

                                                                 
 
                                                                                                        
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

Compliance assurance 

to  ensure 

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
that 
industries,  farmers  and  others  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
protect  water,  air  and  nature,  and  manage  waste.  It 
includes  support  measures  provided  by  the  authorities, 
such as:  
(i) compliance promotion ;  
(ii) inspections and other checks that they carry out, i.e. 
compliance monitoring ; and  
(iii)  the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement .  

Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
focus their efforts better. Environmental liability  ensures 
that the polluter pays to remedy any damage. 

the 

take 

Compliance  obligations  may 
form  of 
prohibitions,  general  binding  rules,  permits  and  other 
measures put in place to protect the environment, public 
health  and  society’s  long-term  resource  needs.  This  is 
explained  in  the  Communication  on  ‘EU  actions  to 
improve environmental compliance and governance’53. 

Compliance promotion and monitoring  

Environmental  compliance  assurance  describes  all  the 
ways  in  which  public  authorities  promote,  monitor  and 
enforce compliance with the following definitions: 

 

promote  means  helping  businesses  and  others  to 
comply; 

  monitor means using inspections and other checks to 
collect  information  on  levels  of  compliance  and 
provide solid evidence for enforcement; and 
enforce  means  to  stop  those  who  disregard  the 
rules,  penalise  them  and  oblige  them  to  rectify  the 
damage. 

 

covers 

Promotion  covers  awareness  raising,  guidance  and 
advice.  Monitoring 
routine  environmental 
inspections,  police 
investigations  and  environmental 
includes  the 
audits  by  public  audit  bodies.  It  also 
examination  of  complaints  submitted  by  the  public. 
Enforcement  covers  audit  recommendations,  official 
warnings,  cease-and-desist  orders,  administrative  fines, 
criminal  prosecutions  and  demands  for  remedial  action. 
Action may vary according to what works best. 

Citizen science and complaint handling 

There are two types of complaint handling: (i) complaints 
to public authorities on environmental problems that the 
authorities  are  asked  to  deal  with;  and  (ii)  complaints 
fulfil 
about  public  authorities’  alleged 

failure 

to 

53 COM(2018)10. 

environmental  tasks,  often  made  to  the  office  of  the 
national ombudsperson.  

Transparency,  citizen  engagement,  accessibility  and 
simplicity, 
and 
accountability  are  the  main  issues  treated  under  this 
section. 

confidentiality, 

independence 

Enforcement 

acts 

that 

crime 

breach 
covers 
Environmental 
environmental  legislation  and  cause  significant  harm  or 
risk to the environment and human health. The most well 
known  examples  of  environmental  crime  are:  (i)  the 
illegal emission or discharge of substances into air, water 
or  soil;  (ii)  illegal  trade  in  wildlife;  (iii)  illegal  trade  in 
ozone-depleting substances; and (iv) the illegal shipment 
or  dumping  of  waste.  Directive  2008/99/EC  on  the 
protection of the environment  through criminal  law lays 
down  a  list  of  environmental  offences  that  all  Member 
States  must  consider  to  be  criminal  offences  if  they  are 
committed intentionally or with serious negligence. 

In addition, the integrity of enforcement bodies is key to 
ensuring proper environmental governance and avoiding 
environment-related  crime.  Screening  and  supervising 
staff  and  rewarding  exemplary  behaviour  are  only  some 
of the possible measures to tackle these issues. 

Environmental liability 

The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  (2004/35/EC) 
of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council 
establishes  a  framework  based  on  the  ‘polluter  pays’ 
principle to prevent and remedy environmental damage. 

No new reports on the ELD were available for the second 
EIR  cycle  available  but  an  evidence  gathering  exercise  is 
taking place as part of the multi-annual work programme 
with the Member States. 

Effectiveness of environmental 
administrations 

in 

involved 

implementing 

Those 
environmental 
legislation at EU, national, regional and local levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits. 

Administrative capacity and quality 

It  is  crucial  that  all  levels  of  staff  in  the  relevant  public 
administration have the necessary abilities, skills, training 
and resources to carry out their tasks and cooperate and 
coordinate effectively with each other, within a system of 
multi-level governance. 

Coordination and integration 

Environmental 
environmental  concerns  are  fully  considered 

integration  means  making  sure  that 
in  the 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Policy background 

decisions  and  activities  of  other  sectors.  Sustainable 
development  requires  a  renewed  emphasis  on  policy 
coordination and integration. 

Genetic resources: Nagoya Protocol on Access to 
Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of 
Benefits Arising (ABS)54  

The EU Access and Benefit Sharing Regulation transposes 
into EU law the compliance measures required under the 
Nagoya  Protocol.  This  provides  a  general  framework  for 
the  conservation  and  sustainable  use  of  biological 
diversity  and  the  fair  and  equitable  sharing  of  the 
benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources. 
A first step that the EIR looked into is the designation of 
the  competent  authorities  in  the  EU  Member  States 
responsible for implementing the EU ABS Regulation. 

International wildlife trade: the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES) 
The  Basic  Regulation55  transposes  the  major  obligations 
stemming from the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) into 
EU law.  Member  States must establish relevant  national 
authorities  for  processing  (requests  for)  import,  (re-) 
export and intra-EU trade documents on a regular basis. 
They must also report on seizures of illegal shipments to 
the  Commission  every  6  months  and  exchange  this 
information through the EU-TWIX platform. 

Adaptability, reform dynamics and innovation 
(eGovernment) 

can 

spur 

eGovernment 
innovation  and  growth 
throughout the economy by offering a lead market and a 
the 
platform 
environmental footprint for all people living in Europe. 

for  private  services  while 

reducing 

Enabling financing and effective use of funds 

The  Commission  provides  funding  to  projects  and 
initiatives  that  promote  its  policy  priorities  throughout 
the  EU  and  further  afield.  Public  authorities  should 
encourage  the  use  of  available  funds  for  environmental 
investment and be able to plan and spend adequately. 

International agreements 

The  EU  Treaties  require  the  EU  environmental  policy  to 
promote  measures  at  international  level  to  deal  with 
regional or worldwide environmental problems. 

Most  environmental  problems  have  a  transboundary 
nature  and  a  global  scope,  meaning  they  can  only  be 
addressed  effectively  through  international  cooperation. 
International  environmental  agreements  concluded  by 
the EU are binding for both EU institutions and Member 
States.  All  parties  must  sign,  ratify  and  effectively 
implement  all  the  relevant  multilateral  environmental 
agreements within the set deadlines. This will also greatly 
contribute  to  achieving  the  SDGs  to  which  Member 
States  committed  in  2015,  which  include  a  number  of 
legally binding agreements. 

ratified  a  number  of 

The  fact  that  some  Member  States  have  not  signed 
and/or 
these  agreements 
compromises environmental implementation— including 
within the EU — as well as the EU’s credibility in related 
negotiations 
international  meetings  where 
supporting  the  accession  of  third  countries  to  such 
agreements  is  an  established  EU  policy  practice.  In 
agreements that involve voting, the absence of individual 
Member States often has a direct negative impact on the 
number of votes cast by the EU. 

and 

Forests:  EU  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR)  /  Forest  Law 
Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation  

In accordance with the EUTR, which prohibits the placing 
illegally  harvested  timber, 
on  the  EU  market  of 
competent  authorities 
in  EU  Member  States  must 
conduct  regular  checks  on  operators  and  traders,  and 
apply penalties in case of non-compliance. 

54 Regulation (EU) No 511/2014. 
55 Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97. 

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