Problems of enforcing EU environmental law by means of Article 169 procedure, adopting the "Newbury Bypass" case as an example; the background to the case - the Environmental Impact Directive and the "pipe-line" point; referral of the Commission's withdrawal from the case to the EU Ombudsman; the office and powers of the Ombudsman; the four main points of complaint; the Commission's arguments to the Ombudsman; the Ombudsman's conclusions, including the "rather surprising" possibility that "a bona fide but wrong interpretation of the law could amount to maladministration"; and his decision to conduct an "own initiative" inquiry into the workings of Article 169 generally; simultaneous consideration of petitions in respect of the same matter by the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament; the Committee's view that the Commission's decision had been made at a political level and its instigation of further investigations; conclusion as to the importance of these references to the Ombudsman and the Parliament.
European Energy and Environmental Law Review