European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL)
IMPEL is an informal network of the environment authorities of the Member States of the European Union. Triggered by a Dutch initiative, IMPEL was conceived at an informal meeting of the Community Environment Ministers in 1991 where it was agreed that: “It would be desirable as a first step to establish a Network of representatives of relevant national authorities and the Commission in the field of enforcement, primarily aimed at exchange of information in the field of compliance and enforcement, and at the development of common approaches at a practical level”. IMPEL activities are guided by the IMPEL Plenary Meetings, which normally take place twice a year. They are co-chaired by the Member State holding the six months’ Presidency of the European Union and the European Commission. All IMPEL activities take place within a project structure. Since its inception, a “network” of National Coordinators has been in place, which provides an important point of the organisation of the Network IMPEL’s mission and objectives have developed over time. The Multi-Annual Work Programme for 2002-06 stated:
- The objectives of IMPEL are to create the necessary impetus in the European Community (including the candidate States and other States applying EU environmental law) to make progress on ensuring a more effective application of environmental legislation. The Network promotes the exchange of information and experience and the development of a greater consistency of approach in the implementation, application and enforcement of environmental legislation, with a special emphasis on community environmental legislation.
AC-IMPEL, the network for EU Accession States, merged with IMPEL in 2003. The new pre-accession network ECENA (Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network for Accession) has taken over from AC-IMPEL in providing tailor-made activities for the acceding and (pre-accession) candidate States, and ECENA has established close ties with IMPEL.
For more information on IMPEL, see http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/impel/