A Green Dimension for the European Community

This collection of nine essays examines the connections between environmental policy and the EC's political processes. It discusses the fundamental issues of why there is an EC environmental policy; its soundness; at what level such a policy is to be formulated and implemented; and who decides what constitutes a prudent and rational policy. This book monitors the development of EC environmental policy from being an incidental to an essential part of the EC's policy programme. It traces the changing nature of EC environmental policy through successive Environmental Action Programmes and examines the extent to which environmental policy has been integrated into EC economic policies. An organizing theme of the volume is that the substance of EC environmental policy can only be understood properly in relation to the processes through which policy is made. Thus the impact of the internationalization of policy networks and the lobbying styles adopted by affected organizations are considered alongside green party politics at the EC level. The policy impact made by the European Parliament is assessed through a detailed study of the EP's Environmental Committee, and the vital importance of implementation and enforcement of legislation to the success of EC environmental policy is highlighted. This group of studies first appeared in a special issue of Environmental Politics 1 (1992) 4.