ABSTRACT
Environment policy was built into the Treaty by the Single European Act of 1987 and its scope was extended by the Treaty on European union of 1992. This allowed the use of majority voting on environmental legislation and introduced as a principle of Treaty law the concept of sustainable growth which respects the environment. While leaving plenty of scope for national action and allowing member States to take even tougher measures than those agreed at union level, the Treaty says that Union policy should contribute to the pursuit of:
preserving, protecting, and improving the quality of the environment;
protecting human health;
ensuring a prudent and rational utilization of natural resources;
promoting measures at the international level to deal with regional or world-wide environmental problems.
The Treaty requires Union policy to aim ‘at a high level of protection’, and at rectifying environmental damage at source, and to be based on taking preventive action and making the polluter pay.
