A discourse analysis of the EUDirective 2008/99/EC : The influence and power of the EU on the implementation of environmental crime law

Sammanfattning: This paper seeks to understand the relationship between the European Unions (EU)2008 directive over environmental crimes and the member states which wasimplemented it into their systems of law. The aim of the paper is to investigate theEUs power and influence over the member states through directives such as the2008 directive and how the member states implemented and perceived it. UsingCarol Bacchis WPR-approach for discourse analysis the power dynamics betweenthe EU and member states were investigated. The member states chosen to beanalysed were Sweden and former member United Kingdom (UK). The analysisfound that the member states were mostly receptive of the 2008 directive. AsSweden is the one left in the EU now, they also look upon the new proposeddirective from 2021 favourably however there are parts they question which can beoverstepping from the EU. The UK on the other hand did like the 2008 directive butas they left, they put forward a plan to better their environmental policies makinguse of the EU and international policies as guides. The power of the EU created bythe 2008 directive was limited due to lack of statistical data, proper reporting to theEU from member states and slow acting on circumstances changing quickly. Thenew 2021 proposed directive has been created to try address the issues found in the2008 directive.