Direct and indirect europeanisation of national administrative systems. Implementation and spillover effects of the environmental information directives in a comparative perspective

Abstract

Until the 1980s, a culture of administrative secrecy prevailed in most European countries. This general approach only changed with the adoption of the first administrative procedure laws, which codified a right of access to files, albeit usually limited to the parties of an administrative procedure. At European level, a trend towards freedom of information started to evolve in the field of environmental procedure law on adoption of the two Environmental Information Directives 90/313/EEC and 2003/4/EC, of which the latter was itself a reaction to the adoption of the Aarhus Convention. This article analyses how these directives were implemented into national legislation and how this also gradually affected other areas of law. Taking examples from France, Germany and Italy, it is argued that the transposition of the Environmental Information Directives ‘europeanised’ these three national administrative systems not only directly, but also in other, more subtle and indirect ways.

Keywords

• Environmental information directives
• europeanisation
• national administrative systems
• EU directives
• spillover effects
• ‘no gold plating’
• European Union
• environment