Towards a sustainable world trade law? The commercial policy of the European Union after Opinion 2/15 CJEU

Research output: Indexed journal article Articlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Opinion 2/15 provides an undisputable exclusive competence to the EU for the inclusion of labour and environmental standards in EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). However, most of the possible policies to include sustainable development in world trade law would affect trade clauses of FTAs and World Trade Organization law for which the exclusive competence of the EU was not in doubt (e.g. free movement of goods and services, intellectual property). Accordingly, a holistic approach of the EU considering sustainability issues when negotiating any aspects of international trade treaties is required if sustainable development is to play a role in the future of world trade law. The article highlights potential consequences of Opinion 2/15 for the trade policy of the European Union in three areas: sustainable development clauses, trade negotiations and the participation of the EU in the WTO.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4-12
Number of pages9
JournalGlobal Trade and Customs Journal
Volume13
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Towards a sustainable world trade law? The commercial policy of the European Union after Opinion 2/15 CJEU'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this