ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the issues specifically by reference to a number of recent and likely future developments. It considers four new acts of European Community (EC) environmental legislation which mark a new direction in EC law and policy-making. The chapter also considers recent developments in EC environmental litigation and the potential role of the ECJ. Since EC secondary environmental legislation will be the basis of national laws, difficulties of interpretation and application will often fall to be resolved by the ECJ. It concludes by considering some tentative and speculative scenarios that might arise once more information on the environment is available through the work of the European Environment Agency and the Environmental Information Directive, and once the Broadcasting Directive and the draft Waste Liability Directive are in place. EC environmental law is a fast-developing area, and it is impossible to predict with any certainty the stage it will have reached a decade from now.
