ABSTRACT
Political decisions on environmental policy often create winners and losers. It is therefore of great importance that decision-makers follow procedures that are seen as legitimate. At the same time, the EU has become an increasingly contested venue for decision-making. EU institutions are keenly aware of these constraints and have attempted to improve the democratic quality of decision-making procedures through a broad variety of measures. These have included strengthening the Parliament’s influence on policy, opening up various stages of the policy-making process to greater civil society participation and creating enhanced opportunities for citizens and environmental NGOs to pursue their rights in court. All of these measures follow different conceptions of democracy, and while individually they have been worthwhile, the diversity of measures used has resulted in growing policy complexity. In addition, some of the response measures may not work well in combination, particularly as some pursue conflicting goals.
