EU Enlargement and the Environment: Six Challenges

Abstract

This contribution analyses six challenges with which candidate countries must successfully cope if they are to fulfil the environmental acquis and promote the more fundamental goal of building a sustainable environment in Central and Eastern Europe. These six challenges are as follows: (1) the fiscal challenge of providing requisite monies; (2) the administrative challenge of building both institutional and staffing capacity; (3) the environmental challenge of promoting a sustainable environment while fulfilling the acquis; (4) the ‘democratic deficit’ challenge of ensuring substantive input for Vox Populi; (5) the energy challenge of reducing the excessive consumption of environmentally threatening fuels and coping with dangerous Soviet-built nuclear power stations; (6) the political challenge of mobilising the support necessary to respond effectively to these foregoing challenges. It concludes that we should be cautiously optimistic about the prospects for environmental accession.