The EU’s Evolving Approach to Environmental Sustainability in Free Trade Agreements

17 Pages Posted: 7 Mar 2023

See all articles by Gracia Marin Duran

Gracia Marin Duran

University College London - Faculty of Laws

Date Written: February 10, 2023

Abstract

With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the promotion of sustainable development became a constitutional imperative for the EU in its relations with third countries. A practical manifestation of this has been the inclusion of environmental (and labour) provisions in the comprehensive free trade agreements (FTAs) concluded by the EU since 2010, which have sought to advance a distinct 'promotional' model for regulating trade-environment (and trade-labour) linkages in FTAs. However, the more recent agreements with the United Kingdom and New Zealand signal a paradigm shift in the EU’s approach to promoting environmental sustainability in FTAs. This paper examines such an evolution in EU FTA practice with regards to both substantive environmental commitments and monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. In doing so, it discusses some of the key challenges that have emerged in terms of policy ambition and compliance.

Keywords: environmental sustainability, sustainable development, free trade agreements, sanction-based enforcement, level playing field, effectiveness, fairness

JEL Classification: K32, K33, K39

Suggested Citation

Marin Duran, Gracia, The EU’s Evolving Approach to Environmental Sustainability in Free Trade Agreements (February 10, 2023). Faculty of Laws University College London Law Research Paper No. 03/2023 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4373632

Gracia Marin Duran (Contact Author)

University College London - Faculty of Laws ( email )

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