... waste remained to the environmental medium in which the least overall damage would be done. European legislative pressure is a little more direct and assertive than national legislation. This is counteracted by the fact that the directives issued by the EU have to be translated by the member states and turned into national laws then enforced. Again dependent on the attitude of particular countries effects how these laws are enforced. The environmental policies of the EU are based on: * Prevention is better than cure * The polluter pays * Other policies should take environmental issues into account. To set about achieving its targets as effectively as possible, the Fifth Community Action Programme on the Environment "Towards Sustainability" established the principles of a European strategy of voluntary action for the period 1992-2000, which would take account of all the causes of pollution (industry, energy, tourism, transport, agriculture, etc.). This approach to environmental policy was ...

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