Policy-making for the Common Good of the European Union citizens? A study of the REACH initiative as an example of the dilemma of balancing environmental protection and economic growth

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This essay examines European Union policy-making in terms of its aims of promoting the Common Good of its citizens. It uses REACH, the new chemical legislation as a case study, since it is a good example of a piece of legislation which has both environmental and economic consequences, and hence pose great problems for legislators in deciding which of the aims for the Common Good to prioritize. It also highlights the question of lobbying in terms of democratic legitimacy. The research questions are: Can both the input and output of the policy process be said to correspond to the aim of the Common Good for EU citizens? What is the rationale guiding a legislation process on a piece of legislation which has implications for industry, the economy and the environment? In terms of input and output legitimacy, according to pluralist and deliberative democratic theory, and the EUs policy aims, both input and output can be said to be legitimate, even though the moral implications of the output might be questionable. The rationale guiding a piece of legislation such as REACH is according to my results 1) A legitimate democratic process, where all parts of the EU political system, stakeholders and civil society will have the possibility to have their voice heard, 2) Environmental impact assessments, 3) Business impact assessments, 4) Assessment of c...