The number of EU directives and regulations that shape the environmental policy of the Member States has increased substantially over the last decades. At the same time it has become evident that in many areas implementation of the European guidelines has occurred only in an insufficient manner and that the effectiveness is limited.

The study INSTRUFECT of the European Union is analysing the relationship between environmental instruments, institutions and national policy making styles as well as their effect on the efficiency of environmental measures.

Case studies compare the implementation of the EU packaging directive (94/62/EC) and the EU directive on cross-border transport of hazardous materials (259/93/EC) and their effects in six Member States; Greece, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Ecologic was commissioned to conduct a detailed case study on German policy concerning packaging as well as an analysis of the development and the content of the EU packaging directive and the EU directive on cross-border transport of hazardous materials.

In order to present the results of the study to the public, Ecologic organised a workshop with the scientists and policy experts who contributed to the project.