BSP 2007/142-722
“Business Support Programme for Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and
Turkey”
History of the Environmental
EU Legislation
EU Environmental Legislation
2.VII.2008
Warsaw, Poland
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Environmental Legislation History
• Awareness of environmental issues 1960s
• First Community environment legislation:
 dangerous chemicals,
 motor vehicles,
 detergents.
EU Environmental Legislation, 2.VII.2008, Warsaw, Poland
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Environmental Legislation History
• First Action Programme 1973 - 1976
The First EAP emphasised the need for a
comprehensive assessment of the impacts of other
policies, in an effort to avoid damaging activities.
EU Environmental Legislation, 2.VII.2008, Warsaw, Poland
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Environmental Legislation History
• Second Action Programme 1977 - 1981
The Second environmental action programme (EAP) (1977 1981) was a follow up to the first in terms of approach and
objective, with simply a greater range of problems to be dealt
with. Nature Protection received special attention.
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The 1st & 2nd EAP Principles
• Prevention is better than cure
• Environmental impacts to be accounted at earliest possible
• Avoidance of significant damage to ecological balance
• Improvement of scientific knowledge
• Polluter pay principle
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The 1st & 2nd EAP Principles - continued
• Activities in one member state should not cause deterioratio
• Interests of developing countries
• Promotion of protection through international organisations
• Environmental protection is everyone's responsibility and the
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The 1st & 2nd EAP Principles - continued
• Subsidiary principle - action at appropriate level
• Co-ordination of national programmes and harmonisation of
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Third Environmental Action Programme
Third Environmental Action Programme (1982 -1986)
 Change in emphasis from pollution control to pollution prevention
 Land use planning
 Integration of environment into other EC policies
 Emissions control policy
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Fourth Environmental Action Programme 1987 - 1992
„Towards environmental policy integration”
 Effective implementation of existing Community legislation
 Regulation of all environmental impacts of 'substances' and 'sources' o
 Increased public access to and dissemination of information
 Job creation
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Fifth Environmental Action Programme 1993 -2000
The elements of the Fifth Environmental Action
Programme
 Sustainable development
 Reference to the sectoral approach
 The emphasis on new instruments.
 The new consensus-oriented approach taking into
account the crucial role of non-governmental protagonists
and local/regional authorities to represent the general
interest of the environment.
 The setting of medium and long-term objectives
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Fifth Environmental Action Programme 1993 - 2000
"Towards Sustainability"
The features of sustainability are:
To maintain the overall quality of life
To maintain continuing access to natural
resources
To avoid lasting environmental damage
To consider as sustainable a development which
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.
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Fifth Environmental Action Programme 1993 - 2000
Legislation in the late 90s:
• Ambient Air Quality Directive
• Water Framework Directive
• IPPC-Directive
• The reform of European Chemicals Policies
• Sett up maximum emission ceilings for key pollutants
• The Completion, revision or modernisation of existing legislative pr
• The introduction of many new environmental policy instruments
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ction Programme (2002-2012)
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6th Environmental Action Programme
The Sixth Environment Action Programme identifies four priority a
• climate change
• nature and biodiversity
• environment and health
• natural resources and wastes
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6th Environmental Action Programme
Thematic Strategies cover the following fields :
 Air
 Waste prevention and recycling
 Marine Environment
 Soil
 Pesticides
 Natural resources
 Urban Environment
The Thematic Strategies will be reviewed in 2010.
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Bibliography
 EC websides:
 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/actionpr.htm
 http://www.eeb.org/
 Dr. Christian Hey, EU Environmental Policies: A short
history of the policy strategies:
http://www.eeb.org/publication/chapter-3.pdf
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