Crucial for the protection of the environment and natural resources is an effective implementation of regulatory policy. For example, the extent to which businesses comply with environmental regulations depends heavily on the design and enforcement of such regulations. The European Union has long been a pioneer in environmental protection formulating high protection standards that are coupled with flexible enforcement mechanisms in order to allow for more cooperative compliance.

Nevertheless, there are scholars arguing that the European Union’s system of checks and balances and its expansion of judicially-enforceable rights are leading its policies down to a path of legalistic and rigid enforcement standards. The objective of the conference is to examine these claims and what they mean for the future of environmental protection in the European Union and beyond.