Editorial note

The Treaty establishing the European Community (formerly European Economic Community, EEC) was designed to create a common market among Western European Member States. When adopted in 1957, it included no rules on environmental protection. The Treaty has been amended several times: it was amended in 1986 by the Single European Act (SEA) and in 1992 by the Treaty on the European Union (TEU). It was further amended in 1997 and in 2001 (respectively by the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice). The EC Treaty has also been amended by the various accession treaties following the several enlargements of the Community, which over the years has expanded from its original six founding Members to the current twenty-five Member States. Of particular significance are the changes to the Treaty made as a result of the Treaty on the Accession of ten new Member States, which was signed on 16 April 2003 and came into force on 1 May 2004.

In particular, the SEA, adopted in February 1986 and entered into force on 1 July 1987, included new specific rules on environmental protection (the then Title VII of the EEC Treaty), which were further expanded upon by the Treaty on European Union, signed on 7 February 1992 and entered into force on 1 November 1993. The TEU, also known as the Maastricht Treaty, changed the name of the European Economic Community to simply ‘the European Community’. It also introduced new forms of co-operation between the Member States – for example on defence, and in the area of ‘justice and home affairs’.