Enforcing Member State Compliance with EU Environmental Law: A Critical Evaulation of the Use of Financial Penalties

The 1993 Treaty on European Union finally closed a legal vacuum in<br/>EU law, by giving the Court the power to impose financial penalties to<br/>enforce compliance with its judgments. Today, this power is found<br/>within Article 260(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the<br/>European Union. Drawing upon case law, this article examines the<br/>role that the Court’s enforcement powers have played in relation to<br/>EU environmental law. It argues that EU law has yet to make full use<br/>of their potential. The article commences with the Commission and<br/>questions whether it has sufficient resources to carry out its functions<br/>under Article 260(2). The article also examines the ongoing problem of<br/>Member State delay in complying with Court judgments and the<br/>weight given to environmental considerations in the Court’s decision<br/>making on financial penalties. The article concludes by examining the<br/>implications of the Lisbon Treaty.