The Legal Significance of Sustainable Development in EC Law

Abstract

In June 2006 the Council of the European Union agreed on the review of the EU sustainable development strategy. This renewed strategy voices a commitment to sustainable development that includes a diverse list of safeguarded interests. Sustainability is to be attained in the spheres of democracy, solidarity, the rule of law, gender equality and at the same time it should promote a dynamic economy. Given this multifunctional application of sustainable development, curiosity may soon give rise to questions such as; What is the legal significance of the concept? Is it to be considered a general principle of Community law? And can it be used as an instrument in adjudication and legal reasoning? Anyone who looks deeper into the concept of sustainable development is soon to find a labyrinthine complex of ideas, expressions and opinions. On the one hand, the concept is embraced by many as being a useful bridge to facilitate public debate. On the other hand, its definition and actual value remains unclear. This essay takes on the task of examining sustainable development in an ecological sense, with Article 6 EC and its integration principle as a first stepping-stone. In an attempt to demystify the vague sustainable development concept selected documents and treaty articles are scrutinized from among others a literal and contextual perspective. In the end, at a European level, the normative significance of sustainable development derived from a study of Article 6 EC limited to the ecological dimension, leaves the concept arguably weak in EC law. It should rather be seen as an over-arching objective to be aimed for in the pursuit of policies and activities within the EC Treaty. Further, there seems to be clear synergies between the modern three-pillar structure of sustainable development and such specific European agendas as the Lisbon strategy. This implies that the sustainable development concept has evolved by time from an international conception to also exist in a specially tailored European version, aptly fitting into specific EU political agenda.