Measuring environmental efficiency of the EU based on a DEA approach with fixed cost allocation under different decision goals.

• DEA was applied to assess the environmental efficiency of EU countries. • Fixed environmental cost allocation is considered at the EU level. • Three novel decision goals are proposed. • Policy measures at EU and each member are recommended. Reasonably measure the environmental efficiency is a significant step towards a greener European Union (EU). This paper proposes several data envelopment analysis (DEA) approaches to evaluate the environmental efficiency of EU countries, considering the allocation of fixed environmental costs and three different decision objectives for each member state. Empirical results for the 28 EU member states from 2013 to 2019 show that the efficiency scores of each member remained broadly stable. Spearman's analysis indicates that the efficiency ranking under economic priority and win–win policy is significantly positively correlated, and the ranking under environment priority is significantly negatively correlated with the rankings under the other two policies. The EU as a whole is most efficient under a win–win strategy, but there are significant differences among member states. Member states that joined the EU earlier have higher efficiency values under economic priority. These results can help the EU and Member states understand strengths and weaknesses and implement appropriate policy measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]