The Scottish Government and its (lack of) Adherence to European Environmental Law

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In light of Gerd’s excellent post on the Trump saga, today’s news from the Sunday Herald on the number of alleged breaches of European environmental law by the Scottish Government, does perhaps, not appear surprising. The article in the Sunday Herald is unfortunately the only information I have been able to obtain on the matter but here is, nevertheless, a short account of the story.

It is alleged that over the last six years the Scottish Government (former Scottish Executive) has been facing infraction proceedings for more than 60 specific breaches of European Community law relating to the environment. This number is in sharp contrast to the 32 breaches that the Scottish Government had admitted to be facing, in 2005, when asked to reveal the figures under then recently passed Freedom of Information legislation. The latest number of breaches only saw light after the Freedom of Information Commissioner (Kevin Dunion, who previously happened to head Friends of the Earth Scotland), ordered the Scottish Government to release the information. The breaches relate to a series of different areas of environmental law from waste, nature conservation and over fishing to control of sewage and lack of control over ozone depleting substances. In short, a full range of the EC’s environmental law pallet.

Although the breaches stem from the reign of the previous Labour administration, the onus is now on the current SNP government to make sure that this lack implementation, if not disregard, is changed. Thus, stronger commitments from the SNP to the environment are certainly welcomed. However, First Minister Salmond’s handling of the Trump application does not inspire confidence. At the same time, it is worth keeping in mind that many of the recent improvements of environmental law that have without doubt taken place in Scotland in general over the last decade, owe much to European law and less to Scottish benevolence towards the environment.

Comments

Gerd Koehler said…
These news seem very interesting. My impression was always that Scots are quite proud of their wild and rugged nature (maybe less so of their weather). It also seems to me that it is precisely this landscape and nature that draws most tourists into the country (formerly known, ie advertised, as the ‘best small country in the world’). One wonders if this should not be sufficient incentive to carefully watch and protect this environment, not only for its own and the wider environmentalist sake, but also for those pure and uninspired economic reasons.
18 December 2007 at 00:29
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