The Transnational Dimension of the Industrial Emissions Directive: Protecting Human Health and the Environment from Industrial Pollution across Borders

Abstract This article aims to examine and analyze the recently revised Industrial Emissions Directive ( ied ) through the lens of the concept of transnational administrative law. The ied is the main EU instrument regulating pollutant emissions from large industrial industries, such as power plants, refineries, waste treatment and incineration, metal production and pig and poultry farming. The revised ied strengthens provisions to protect human health and the environment from cross-border industrial pollution, generating transnational administrative activities. The aim of this article is to present the transnational administrative acts or actions generated by this framework of EU environmental law, and to classify them according to the different types of transnational administrative acts and actions distinguished in literature. The last part focuses on how the EU-induced administrative transnationality is operationalized at the national level. Transnational administrative activities have scarcely led to legal issues in practice, at least in the Netherlands. A possible reason for this could be the presence of bilateral working agreements with Germany and Belgium, which may operate effectively in practice.