Environmental policy of the European Union

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The European Union (EU) Environmental Policy was initiated in 1973 with the "Environmental Action Programme" at which point the Environmental Unit was formed (named Directorate General for the Environment in 1981). The policy has thereafter evolved "to cover a vast landscape of different topics enacted over many decades" (Reuters^[1]) and in 2015 the Institute for European Environmental Policy estimated that "the body of EU environmental law" amounted to 500+ directives, regulations and decisions.^[2]

"Over the past decades the European Union has put in place a broad range of environmental legislation. As a result, air, water and soil pollution has significantly been reduced. Chemicals legislation has been modernised and the use of many toxic or hazardous substances has been restricted. Today, EU citizens enjoy some of the best water quality in the world" (European Commission, EAP 2020^[3])