ABSTRACT
For environmental policy in general, the most important piece of legislation adopted under the state socialist system prevailing until 1989 was the Act on Environmental Protection, enacted in 1976. The political regime had changed, therefore, and even the economic system had been dramatically altered, but the formal policy on environment had been held essentially constant. The heart of environmental protection remains with the system of standards and associated penalties. The government's environmental action plan, prepared in 1993, stipulated a number of principles and priorities. Standards for protection of the environment are central elements of Hungarian national policy, but serious problems of enforcement have long plagued the system. Environmental policy in Hungary from the days of state socialism through the period covered by this study has emphasized punishment for violation of regulatory standards rather than other types of policy instruments, In particular, designing policies to prevent pollution in the first place has been neglected.
