This project will feed into the discussions under the Belgian EU presidency in the second half of 2010 on the follow-up to the EU’s 6th Environment Action Programme (6th EAP, 2002-2012) and the focus and contents of a potential 7th EAP. Assessing the impact of the European Commission’s better regulation initiative on EU environmental measures adopted under the 6th EAP, the project will provide a background for these discussions.

As part of the renewed efforts to improve EU governance, the European Commission launched the better regulation initiative in 2002 with the aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of EU legislation. Key better regulation measures and instruments include impact assessment of legislative proposals, improved stakeholder participation, and simplification, codification and streamlining of legislation. Although better regulation is not specifically aimed at environmental measures, better regulation has also influenced the implementation of the 6EAP.

Against this background the project analyses the effects, which better regulation had on specific pieces of environmental legislation in a number of areas, such as waste management, air pollution, climate change/energy efficiency, soil protection, pesticides and chemicals. The analysis will assess the performance of better regulation in the environmental field, identifying strengths and weaknesses in terms of the aims of the better regulation initiative itself, but also against the background of broader efforts to improve EU governance.

The project is part of a larger initiative by Brussels Environment to stimulate and contribute to the discussion on a potential 7th EAP. The results of this as well as the other projects forming part of this initiative will be presented at a major conference to be held during the Belgian EU presidency in autumn 2010.