EU Water Framework Directive from a Finnish perspective: Evolution from a paper tiger to a beast with transformative potential

On 19 December 2019, the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (SACF) ruled against Finnpulp, an intended 1,4 billion-euro industrial bioeconomy investment in Kuopio. In this landmark ruling (SACF 2019:166), the court overturned earlier decisions granting an environmental permit. The reasoning of the SACF was to a considerable degree based on article 4 of the Water …