Environmental policy in the European Union: community competence vs member state competence

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn the environmental federalism literature it is argued that the optimal level of environmental quality varies widely across jurisdictions and that welfare losses associated with enforcing a harmonised uniform standard is quite large. Greater leeway for tailoring environmental standards to local circumstances are therefore in order. In this paper Member States’ possibilities to implement a higher level of environmental protection than the harmonized EU level are examined.