‘We believe that ‘law without enforcement is just good advice’ (Abraham Lincoln). Effective implementation and enforcement are essential to ensure that legislation achieves its objectives. For EU policies to deliver results, EU law must be implemented and enforced in the Member States. Since 2003, Milieu has supported the European Commission to assess whether directives and regulations are properly implemented and enforced.

To assess implementation and enforcement, we examine a wide range of activities, including compliance promotion, monitoring and enforcement. We recognise that effective implementation and enforcement of EU law involves many actors and processes within the Member States, and we support the Commission to help those players to work together. The European Commission also plays a vital role in enforcing EU legislation through infringement proceedings. We have assisted the Commission by identifying failures to transpose, implement or enforce EU law in the Member States, and by analysing the benefits of enforcement actions by the Commission.