ABSTRACT
The Effect of Community Environment Directives on the Member States According to established case law of the European Court of Justice, European Community directives can have an effect on national laws when Member States, contrary to the provisions of Article 189, third paragraph, have taken no or insufficient measures to transpose the directive's provisions into national law. This chapter outlines the basic principles of direct effect, the individual provisions of environment directives which have a direct effect and some conclusions which can be reached concerning the field of national law. The Court has in consistent rulings set out the legal consequences of direct applicability of the provisions of a directive: all national authorities are required to take steps to implement the Community provision. Environment law is a classic area where there are 'instructions' to the authorities to draw up rehabilitation plans, take measurements, establish conditions for the application of modern technologies for environmental protection.
