Chapter 27

Last reviewed: ‎18‎ ‎October‎ ‎2023

To conduct the accession negotiations, the EU legislation and standards are divided into 35 chapters and form the basis of the accession for each candidate country. They correspond to the different areas of the acquis of the preceding for which reforms are needed to meet the accession conditions.

Chapter 27 is one of the most demanding in the EU accession process, in terms of the funds required, institutional capacities, and the need for profound changes in the habits of people and industries. 

If extended periods after membership are required, transitional periods must be negotiated. A request for transitional period must be supported by a Directive Specific Implementation Plan, DSIP. For the process to be a success, politicians must move environment and climate change up their list of priories.

Chapter 27 – on environment and climate change, comprises over 200 EU legal acts divided into about 75 main legal acts/groups of legal acts into five subchapters.

In-depth information on Chapter 27

Promote sustainable development and protect the environment for present and future generations.

The acquis comprises over 200 major legal acts covering various sectors. For negotiations purposes, EU legal acts are grouped into about 75 main legal acts/groups of legal acts into following subchapters: 

  • Horizontal
    The horizontal sector is concerned with environmental legislation on various matters which cut across different environmental subjects. Rather than to regulate a specific area, these items of legislation are more procedural. They provide for methods and mechanisms aimed at improving decision making and legislative development and implementation. 
  • Air quality
    The main policy instruments on air pollution within the EU include the Ambient Air Quality Directive (adopted as 2008/50/EC) which, together with the fourth daughter Directive (2004/107/EC) provides the current framework for the control of ambient concentrations of air pollution in the EU. National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive establishes national emission reduction commitments for five air pollutants for 2020 and 2030. In addition, there is source specific legislation addressing industrial emissions, road and offroad vehicle emissions, fuel quality standards etc. Emissions are also addressed internationally under the 1979 Convention on Long range Transboundary Air Pollution.
  • Waste management
    EU waste management policies aim to reduce the environmental and health impacts of waste and improve Europe´s resource efficiency. The EU’s approach to waste management is based on the Waste Hierarchy. Member states are required to prioritise prevention, re-use and re-cycling above landfilling and incineration, thus making circular economy a reality.
  • Water quality
    A, EU key objective is to achieve, by 2027 at the latest, good status for the over 111 000 surface waters (rivers, lakes, and coastal waters) and the over 13 000 groundwaters in EU territory. “Good status” means good ecological and chemical status for surface waters, good qualitative and chemical status for groundwaters and the main sources of abstraction of drinking water. This work is supported by several directives. One is the Water Framework Directive, WFD, which establishes a strategic framework for the protection of all water bodies, such as rivers, lakes, coastal waters, and groundwater
  • Nature protection
    The EU has been committed to the protection of nature since the adoption of the Birds Directive in April 1979. It provides comprehensive protection to all wild bird species naturally occurring in the EU territory. The Habitats Directive was adopted in 1992 to help maintain biodiversity. It protects over 1000 animals and plant species, and over 200 types of habitats. It also established the EU wide Natura 2000 network.
  • Industrial pollution control
  • Chemicals
  • Noise
  • Climate change

Chapter 27 also includes civil protection area.