ABSTRACT
The development of an environmental policy must be regarded as one of the most notable achievements of the European Community (EC). The importance of the Community's environmental strategy has indeed been reflected in the fact that environmental protection has been identified by the European Court of Justice as being one of the Community's essential objectives. The Community's institutions were willing to base environmental legislation on either ex Article 100 (now Article 94 EC) or ex Article 235 (now Article 308 EC), or, more commonly, a combination of the two. Ex Article 100 allowed for the adoption of directives to harmonise Member States' legislation and/or practice for the purposes of establishing and maintaining the common market. Environmental measures were also adopted under ex Article 235 which enables legislation to be passed where it is necessary to attain one of the objectives of the Community, but where the Treaty has not provided the necessary powers.
