The European Community plays a key role in the development of environmental law and policy. Over a period of three decades a substantial body of Community Law has emerged, regulating environmental quality and giving rise to substantial litigation before European and national courts.

This book introduces readers to the legal aspects of the European Community's environmental policy, placing these in their broader economic and political context. It explores issues such as the scope of the European Community's competence in this area, the implications of the subsidiarity principle, and examines the different instruments which the Community deploys in seeking to promote environmental protection.

Particular attention is devoted to the manner in which environmental considerations have been integrated into other Community policies, and to discussing the tensions between ecology and economics in the context of Community policy. The book also highlights the practical difficulties surrounding the enforcement of EC environmental law.