Transnational Cooperation Duties under the Major Accident Hazards (Seveso) Directive: How Transboundary Risk Prevention Limits the Autonomy of Member States

Abstract This article examines the transnational cooperation duties under the major accident hazards (Seveso) Directive and the transnational administrative acts that are generated by that framework. It begins by providing a brief introduction to this regime, then explores the cooperation duties in question that are based, first and foremost, on the sharing of information and of best practices. Such cooperation may take place directly between Member States, through information available in EU wide databases, or via formal and informal mechanisms of technical cooperation. In some cases, this cooperation gives rise to transnational administrative acts, both with transnational effects and of transnational imputation. The article finishes with an analysis of some of the open questions arising from this cooperation. It shows that the transboundary risk prevention duties lead to a restriction of the autonomy of Member States.