Abstract
Sustainable development has only recently manifested itself on the political agenda of the European Union (EU). The purpose of the founding of what we now know as the EU, namely the European Coal and Steel Community and later the European Economic Community, was to create economic interdependence and peaceful relations on the post-WWII European continent. Interdependence and economic integration have led to a unique legal and political order. The EU today is significantly more than an international organisation and takes on almost nation-state-like structures; however, it cannot quite be characterised as such. Unlike any other organisation, the EU is commissioned with a large variety of competences, ranging from the customs union to a shared competence in environmental legislation. Based on these competences, the EU can be described as a “quasi-state” (Schmidt 2006). This characterisation results in obligations that other organisations may not have. As an independent legal and political body with direct influence in all EU member states as well as influence on their trade partners, the EU must act towards making a difference when the globally-defined goal is to achieve greater sustainable development in all sectors, as is intended with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Notes
- 1.
Opinion of the Court (Full Court) of 18 December 2014, Case Opinion 2/13, ECLI:EU:C:2014:2454.
- 2.
Single European Act [1987] OJ L 169/1 (amending Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community, 25 March 1957, 298 UNTS 11).
- 3.
Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances [1967] OJ 196/1.
- 4.
Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, signed at Lisbon on 13 December 2007 [2007] OJ C 306/01.
- 5.
Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2012) OJ C 326/1.
- 6.
U.N. Doc. A/Conf.48/14/Rev. 1; reprinted in 11 I.L.M. 1416 (1972).
- 7.
1st Environmental Action Programme 1973–1976 [1973] OJ C 112/1.
- 8.
Council Decision 73/126/EEC adopting a research programme for the European Economic Community on the protection of the environment [1973] OJ L 155/11.
- 9.
Council Directive 85/210/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the lead content of petrol [1985] OJ L 96/25 repealed by Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Council Directive 93/12/EEC [1998] OJ L 350/58.
- 10.
Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community [1957] 298 UNTS 11.
- 11.
Case 240/83 Procureur de la République v Association de défense des brûleurs d’huiles usagées (ADBHU) [1985] ECR 531.
- 12.
Case 302/86 Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Denmark [1988] ECR 4607.
- 13.
Treaty on European Union, signed at Maastricht on 29 July 1992 [1992] OJ C 191/1.
- 14.
Initiated with the Joint Declaration of the European Ministers of Education convened in Bologna on 19 June 1999 (not published in the Official Journal) for setting up the European higher education area.
- 15.
Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing ‘Erasmus+’: the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Decisions No 1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC [2013] OJ L 347/50.
- 16.
Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties Establishing the European Communities and Certain Related Acts [1997] OJ C 340/1.
- 17.
Treaty of Nice amending the Treaty on the European Union, the Treaties Establishing the European Communities and Certain Related Acts [2001] OJ C 80/1.
- 18.
Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2010] OJ C 83/01.
- 19.
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union [2010] OJ C 83/02.
- 20.
The role of the institutions is discussed in Sjåfjell and Wiesbrock (2014) and Sjåfjell (2009), where there is reference to the respective case law. See C-176/03 Commission v Council and C-440/05 Commission v Council, as well as C-62/88 Greece v Council (Chernobyl I), C-300/89 Commission v Council (Titanium Dioxide) and C-440/05 Commission v Council.
- 21.
Breach of Directive 2008/50/EC as regards the respect of NO2 limit values in Germany [2018], infringement number 20152073.
- 22.
Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment [2014] OJ L 124/1, the most recent amendment of the Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment [1985] OJ L 175/40.
- 23.
For a detailed account of international developments, see Chap. 4 “From Stockholm to Paris: Four Decades of Sustainability in International Law” in this volume.
- 24.
Agenda 21 [1992] United Nations Conference on Environment & Development Rio de Janerio, Brazil, A/CONF.151/26/REV.1.
- 25.
Council Recommendation on establishing a Youth Guarantee [2013] OJ C 120/1.
- 26.
Council Directive 2014/95/EU amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups [2014] OJ L 330/1.
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Leptien, E., Mochalova, G., Albrecht, E. (2019). European Union Policy for Sustainable Development. In: Schmidt, M., Giovannucci, D., Palekhov, D., Hansmann, B. (eds) Sustainable Global Value Chains. Natural Resource Management in Transition, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14877-9_5
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