Seite 110 [110]
108 ATTILA PANOVICS
In the European Union, it is essentially the Member States that are responsible
for the implementation of EU law at the national level; this is constantly monitored
by the European Commission as the ‘guardian of the EU Treaties’. The practical
application of EU law therefore depends essentially on the effectiveness of the
cooperation between the Commission and the Member States. As mentioned
earlier, international law is essentially intergovernmental, whereas the European
Union has what is known as supranational characteristics. The most important of
these, alongside the Brussels Commission already mentioned, is the Court of Justice
of the EU,'* which both cooperates with national courts in the Member States (to
ensure a uniform interpretation of EU law) and is ultimately the highest judicial
forum for the settlement of disputes in accordance with EU law.
The effectiveness of the Court of Justice of the EU is therefore primarily due
to the fact that, compared to other international judicial forums, the new Member
States must, upon accession to the EU, recognise the exclusive jurisdiction of the
Luxembourg body in matters of EU law. In infringement proceedings brought against
EU Member States for breach of EU law, generally by the European Commission,
the Member State concerned is obliged to participate as a defendant and may not
refuse to participate in the proceedings." However, it is by no means certain that
a judgment will be delivered at the end of the proceedings, and it is very rare for
a sanction (a penalty payment and/or a lump sum) to be imposed on a Member
State for breaching an EU obligation, since this is not the purpose of the
proceedings. Rather, it is to bring the infringement to an end as soon as possible
and to enforce the obligations arising from EU law (Osztovits et al. 2021: 305).
Thus, the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the EU is the main
guarantee of the effectiveness of EU law — also in environmental matters.
EU environmental policy and law have evolved in parallel with the development
of international environmental cooperation and have now created the most
comprehensive regime in the world (Delreux — Happaerts 2016: 12), although
single market legislation currently still forms the core of EU law. The EU
environmental acguis is sufficiently comprehensive and ambitious in nature to
have a direct impact on the environmental performance of EU Member States.
Effective implementation reguires, in particular, public authorities (e.g.,
environmental inspectorates) with adeguate capacities (staff, funding and resources)
at the level of the member states . The EU does not specifically support this, but
it does expect full implementation of member states" obligations under EU
(environmental) law (Krámer 2012: 397).
"The Court of Justice of the EU (formerly the Court of Justice of the European Communities),
based in Luxembourg, is not to be confused with the European Court of Human Rights, based
in Strasbourg and serving an institution of the traditional international organization known as
the Council of Europe. Its main task is to interpret and apply the European Convention on Human
Rights (1950) and its protocols, while the Court of Justice of the EU is specifically responsible
for ensuring respect for EU law.
See the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) article 258.