Table of Contents

2 Background and definitions

← Introduction | Methodological approach | Preliminary findings… | Conclusions & next steps | Annexes | Bibliography

2.1 Short introduction to international and EU environmental policymaking and policy instruments

*International level* – Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) such as the Ramsar Convention (1971) and the Montreal Protocol (1987) are either legally binding (treaties, conventions, protocols) or non‑binding (declarations, guidelines).

*EU level* – The Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) allocate environmental competence to both the Union and Member States (Art. 4 TEU, Art. 191‑3 TFEU). The EU adopts legislative acts (directives, regulations) and non‑legislative acts (decisions, recommendations, communications).

2.2 Environmental compliance assurance (ECA)

*2.2.1 Responsibility of complying with EU environmental law* – Member States transpose directives, adopt national rules and enforce them.

*2.2.2 Compliance promotion, monitoring and enforcement* – defined by the European Commission (2017, 2018) and reproduced in Table 2 of the report.

*2.2.3 National actors of ECA* – public authorities, inspectors, courts, police, etc.

2.3 Citizen science, citizen‑generated data and citizen actions

*2.3.1 Citizen science* – collaborative data collection and knowledge generation.

*2.3.2 Citizen & community‑led actions (CCLA)* – actions taken by citizens or communities to improve environmental protection (see Figure 4).

*2.3.3 Citizen‑generated data (CGD)* – data produced by citizens, often near‑real‑time, that can complement institutional data.

2.4 Horizontal and thematic policy areas

*Horizontal (cross‑cutting)* – policies that set procedural foundations (access to information, public participation, access to justice).

*Vertical (thematic)* – policies targeting the three pillars (Zero‑pollution, Biodiversity, Deforestation). See Table 3 for the list of policies analysed.