Conclusions
Achievements
The assessment of the level of compliance of the relevant sets of the EU and the CEE countries' environmental regulations provides evidence that achievements have been made in the region. There are general, policy-oriented achievements as well as successes in improving particular fields of environmental protection. The most important of them are as follows:
Political commitment
One of the main driving forces behind the process of approximating CEE environmental policy and legislation to the respective policy and legislation of the European Union is the strong political commitment of CEE countries. This commitment has been built on strong social pressure to restore the environment in the countries of the region.
In accordance with the prevailing view, EU environmental legislation is perceived by many people in the region as more effective, democratic and closer to ideas of sustainable development. In this development (i.e. that unsustainable practices and ineffective and poorly enforced environmental regulations should be changed) one cannot overlook the many signals from the outside world, mainly the CEE's immediate western neighbors. This leads to the formulation of appropriate political commitments that have been expressed in association agreements concluded by the CEE countries with the European Communities and their member states in the 90s. According to the wording of these agreements, the approximation of CEE countries' legislation is a precondition for their economic integration with the European Community.
One of the priorities in this development is environmental legislation. There is a strong conviction that the successful transferral of European Union environmental legislation will help adjust the economics of CEE countries a market economy, and help to regulate users of the environment in a more efficient way (i.e. in accordance with the polluter-pays-principle).
Coordination at state level
The process of approximation is best organized and coordinated at state level in the CEE countries. For this purpose, various organizational structures geared towards integration with the EU have been established, to include the establishment of government bodies, such as offices, departments, and committees, for European integration. In many countries of the region, special units for European integration have been established in each of the ministries. Currently, it is also typical that parliaments in CEE countries have established their own committees for the implementation of the association agreements. They have undertaken the task to carefully review progress made in integration, including law approximation.
The general approximation process itself is more formalized, which leads to better and more efficient management. Although the European Commission's so-called "White Paper related to the Preparation of the Associated Countries of Central and Eastern Europe for Integration into the Internal Market of the Union" was adopted only in May 1995, some of the countries have already adopted special policy or legal instruments for implementing the guidelines that it contains. While writing a new law or regulation, in some countries of the region, it is almost impossible not to take into account a respective European legislation without the risk that the draft will be returned to its initiators for improvements. Slowly, a new legal profession is emerging at government level where lawyers check legal drafts for compliance with EU legislation.
Progress in selected areas
After 1989, the majority of CEE countries changed their constitutions and adopted framework environmental laws. Therefore, at the level of these new legal acts, many of the EU's basic principles, such as precaution, prevention, rectifying pollution at the source, and polluter pays, are appropriately reflected. Also, such a basic legal institution as the EIA is relatively well-regulated. Great progress has been made in establishing the legal basis for various environmental funds.
Nature conservation is an area where CEE countries' legal regulations are close to compliance with respective EU legislation. This fact can be explained by the long tradition of nature conservation in many countries of the region, adherence to many international legal instruments, and quite a number of areas with well-preserved nature.
Protecting air against pollution is another area which is relatively well-covered by legal regulations that reflect those of the EU. This can be explained by the fact that air quality protection has been recognized by CEE countries as a health and environmental priority that is closely monitored by the international community.
Water quality protection is an area of regulation with a longer tradition in the region. It shows many conceptual similarities to EU water legislation. Many technical differences with respect to EU legislation (i.e. standards and methods of measurement) are quickly being eliminated.
Network of professionals
A few years ago, a thorough knowledge of the political, legal, economic and environmental aspects of European integration in CEE was extremely limited Ñ one could almost risk saying it was virtually non-existent. In a short time, a good deal of training on EU matters for local experts, to include the issue of the environment, has been introduced thanks to assistance from the European Commission (mainly through PHARE) and its member countries. This has led to a noticeable increase in the knowledge of local experts. Many universities in the region have launched regular or postgraduate European studies, including the study of legal matters. This development has led to the establishment of networks of professionals in many fields, including the environment.
Business interest
Representatives of various businesses are among those who exert the most aggressive pressure to accelerate the approximation process in the environmental field. They realize that functioning in the same legal "environment" as their partners and competitors in EU countries helps them to increase their own respective credibility and competitiveness. The "green" profile of products or enterprises is becoming a factor which will help decide whether they will encounter success or failure on the market. Therefore, a strong pressure is mounting on the administration to transpose and implement, as soon as possible, EU regulations on eco-labeling and EMAS.
Translating EU environmental directives into local languages
To eliminate the language barrier, a number of CEE countries have begun to translate European Union environmental legislation into local languages. Such initiatives will result in a substantial increase in the knowledge of EU environmental legislation within circles of government officials, politicians, experts and professionals. It may also streamline the approximation process itself.
Problems
Apart from the evident achievements influencing future EU environmental law approximation efforts by CEE countries, compliance assessment studies also provide evidence of several problems which may constrain the approximation process. The main problem areas are listed as follows:
Unbalanced development of law
Parliaments in CEE countries are blocked by a myriad of legal drafts dealing with all possible types of regulations. Although environment restoration and protection are among the priority issues of the region, environmental legislation is still somehow lagging behind drafts dealing with such crucial matters as competition, customs, insurance, and banking. Long delays in the adoption process of environmental laws result in delays related to the issuance of implementation regulations at governmental level. Because of the great number of law drafts in parliaments, it is not very realistic to expect that particular drafts (or amendments) that deal, for instance, with access to information, will receive priority treatment. This situation results in the unbalanced development of the legal system.
Lack of a clear approximation strategy
After an initial period of spontaneous approximation, some CEE countries adopted programs of law approximation. Unfortunately, this process is far from being completed. It obvious that the lack of a clear approximation strategy could result in a slower and less efficient process of achieving environmental goals. Some assistance in this process has been provided by the European Commission in the form of it's "White Paper," but the guidelines contained in the "White Paper" are limited only to those legal instruments which are relevant to the establishment of the internal market. Therefore, a supplementary white paper covering the rest of the EU legislation would be highly appreciated.
Access to the EU legislative process
There are sometimes serious problems with properly understanding the existing EU legislation by those who are involved in the approximation process. Therefore it is of the utmost practical importance that the Commission Technical Facility for the Implementation of the White Paper is established and fully operational. Lack of direct insight into the legislative process of the European Union is also a problem in the approximation process. It is especially important in the context of the accelerated process of changes in European environmental legislation, particularly in the field of water.
Incomplete law drafting processes and frequent changes of law
A shortage of professionals, mostly lawyers, in spite of some positive developments in the field, has been strongly emphasized in almost every country report. This fact has an impact on the speed and quality of law drafting. Contracting the services of foreign legal experts, although very helpful, will not solve the situation. It is local experts with a thorough knowledge of the EU environmental legal system who should be the basis of law drafting in the region. In addition, many reporters pointed to underpaid, understaffed and overburdened administrations as a source of resistance against taking on new tasks.
High cost of approximation
It is difficult, if at all possible, to design a credible and economically efficient approximation strategy (i.e. programs and plans) without a thorough knowledge of the cost of implementing EU legal acts, especially when dealing with the abatement of emissions into the environment. Reasons for this are mainly a lack of appropriate calculation models, and a lack of necessary data and well-trained experts. Some effort in this field, sponsored by PHARE in Poland, has been undertaken. A project on cost methodology of environmental protection and the cost of approximation to EU legislation (limited to two directives) was undertaken and is now almost completed. According to some very rough estimates, the cost of implementing EU environmental standards in the countries of the region will be high. Due to limited financial resources in these countries, the process of achieving many environmental goals may be rather long and this could slow down the approximation process.
Poor enforcement
Approximation in broad terms means not only transposing EU law, but also its effective implementation and enforcement. Although there has been some progress in the quality of enforcement in the region, much still needs to be done. First of all, there must be a clear and transparent division of power and competencies between various authorities with respect to those who manage and those who enforce. Secondly, in some of the countries of the region, enforcement authorities are understaffed and poorly equipped. It is also very important to eliminate the tradition of poor enforcement which was typical under the communist regime.
Needs
Before 1989, environmental legal systems in CEE countries were more or less developed, and certainly there were no legal vacuums. The prevailing philosophy of the legal system was a stress on ambient quality. An emission standards approach was not always present, BATNEEC was not applied.
As a rule, new constitutions and framework environmental laws have been adopted by many countries of the region. They reflect the basic principles and legal institutions contained in EU environmental legislation. Nature conservation and air and water protection are areas that have reached a relatively high level of compliance with EU legislation. On the other hand, regulations for chemicals, GMO and waste management are the most neglected areas.
A strong political commitment from CEE countries to complete the approximation process as soon as possible is reflected by the great number of draft laws and regulations which are queuing up in parliaments or governments. There is a chance that within two or three years the environmental legislation of CEE countries will show high levels of compliance with EU environmental legislation.
To fully succeed in the approximation process, it is necessary to eliminate the shortage of experts in matters pertaining to the approximation of EU environmental legislation. Approximation strategies, based on thorough cost/benefit estimates, should be elaborated or enhanced. Because of the dynamic changes in EU environmental legislation, it is important for CEE countries to have direct access to the EU legislative process. Further assistance from the EU, such as that provided in the form of the "White Paper," will be of the utmost importance, as will working contacts with EU experts. Bilateral cooperation with EU member states should be strengthened since CEE countries could really benefit from their approximation and harmonization experiences. For CEE countries to achieve their environmental goals, it is necessary that they substantially increase spending on environmental protection and obtain additional assistance from external financial sources.
REC * PUBLICATIONS * APPROXIMATION OF EU ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION *
REGIONAL OVERVIEW * CONCLUSIONS
