Directorate-General For The Environment (European Commission) - History

History

EU environmental policy started as a collection of disparate laws which had no specific Treaty basis. There was no department dedicated to environmental issues for the first 15 years of the European Commission’s existence. It was only in 1973 that an environmental unit was created within DG Industry; a fully-fledged Environment Directorate-General (DG) was then set up in 1981. However, it remained a relatively weak DG in the Commissioner for several years due to its lack of institutional experience and human resources; Having started with 5 officials in 1973, there were still only about 60 officials in the 1980s.

In its early years, DG Environment hired specialists with technical knowledge who had a different culture to the other Commission’s officials. This ‘gave a reputation for being dominated by “ecological freaks”'. However, overtime DG environment matured and settled into the Commission’s ways of working. In particular this meant taking politics more into consideration when formulating legislation so that it could be adopted and better implemented.

The Fifth Environmental Action Programme which came into force on 1 January 1993 marked a sea-change in DG environment’s approach to policy-making. It attempted to present the DG and its policies in a more contemporary and constructive light. The programme demonstrated that legislation was no longer to be made solely behind closed doors, but together with all social and economic partners.