I like Hans Christian Andersen‘s stories. My favourite is “The Emperor’s New Clothes” . It is a great tale for kids and parents alike.
Two recent reports, one from Spanish prosecutors and another by the UK NGO, Environmental Investigation Agency, reveal the systematic non compliance with EU electronic waste recycling laws. The flagrancy of the breaches are shocking, and companies and enforcement agencies are not even bothering to hide their misdemenaours. It is all illustrative of the whole scale lack of real enforcement of EU environmental laws across europe. The report shows that governments can’t even be bothered to do even basic checks. Indeed, the laws seem to be nothing more than paper based statements of intent. Governments, Commission, NGOs and some companies hail the adoption of a piece of newly adopted law, and then promptly forget about the less exciting, but surely more important things, like implementing it.
But, the pretence that the rules that Europe pass are implemented is a mirage that the Commission, Member States, Industry and NGOs like to maintain. This shameful conspiracy of silence needs to end. Governments need to enforce the rules they signed up to. The Commission needs to return to days when it had courage, like under Jacques Delors and Ludwig Kramer, to inspect environmental crimes and stopped them.
Finally, NGOs need to focus their scarce resources , step back from campaigning for new and ever more elaborate environmental laws, and refocus on the basics, like improving the environment and making sure the laws we have in place are working. Now, that would be a radical first step.