This timely book identifies some of the weaknesses of the public enforcement mechanism inherent in Articles 258-260 TFEU, and suggests how that mechanism could be improved in order to promote the overall effectiveness of EU law and environmental law in particular. Starting from the idea that the European Union lacks a strong enforcement body to prevent Member States from exploiting loopholes in its legal system, the author thoroughly investigates the extent to which the effectiveness of the EU's public enforcement provisions depends on voluntary compliance or on actual enforcement mechanisms.