Compliance with European Union environmental law: An analysis of digitalization effects on institutional capacities

Abstract

This article presents evidence for the positive effects of digitalization on the institutional capacity of key stakeholders, which is a necessary precondition for narrowing the existing implementation gap in European Union environmental law. Based on document analysis and semistructured interviews with actors involved in the implementation process, four main factors are considered. First, the Commission's institutional capacity benefits from a change of focus of the reporting system from textual information to data and indicators and by the development of new data harvesting methods. Second, subnational actors have improved their institutional capacity through knowledge transfers and strategic planning, facilitated by better information and communication technology and statistical data. Third, inspection networks benefitted from technical advances, such as the access to satellite images, presenting new opportunities for the detection of environmental crimes, and new software programs facilitating risk-based inspections. Finally, citizens' and nongovernmental organizations' improved access to data and to justice in environmental matters strengthened their monitoring capacities.