ABSTRACT
There is limited constitutional provision in the EC Treaty. With regard to the Commission, the relevant Articles are 155 to 163. Article 162.2 provides that the Commission shall adopt its rules of procedure so as to ensure that both it and its departments operate in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty. Since environmental protection was hived off from consumer protection and became a Directorate General (DG) in its own right in 1981, the Commissioner charged with the environment portfolio has been able to focus on that alone. One of the tasks of the DG XI Legal Affairs Unit is to monitor the implementation and enforcement of Community environmental law. The objections raised above to the structure of the Commission and to the procedure for investigating formal complaints are based on fundamental principles of constitutional law—the separation of powers, access to information, and accountability.
