The launch of the Green Deal in 2019 marked a crucial moment in the EU’s environmental policy, promising a radical shift towards sustainability and climate neutrality. This ambitious agenda intends not only to reshape internal policies, but also carries profound implications for the Union’s external environmental action. The organisation is seen as a global leader in environmental action and a key promoter of UN climate goals, including the Paris Agreement. The EU's ‘Green Deal Diplomacy’ leverages its internal green transition to engage international partners through trade and development policies. The ambitious goals of the Green Deal, however, often clash with practical legal and policy challenges, in addition to raising questions about equity and justice, particularly in the EU’s relations with the Global South. This seminar, organised by the Department of International and European Law and co-funded by Radboud Centre for Sustainability Challenges, will explore three key themes within this context.
The first one queries the EU’s external role within a broader constitutional perspective. Is it appropriate and pertinent to conceptualise the EU as a ‘green actor’, considering its diverse mission brief? To what extent has the protection of the environment evolved in the Union’s legal order to constitute a proper ‘value’ akin to the foundational values in Article 2 TEU? In this respect, it is worth considering to what extent the constitutional framework for external action aligns with the ambitions of the Green Deal. This theme also encompasses the institutional dynamics of external green action, including the role of the Court of Justice in interpreting and enforcing EU environmental law in this sphere.
The second theme seeks to interrogate the credentials of the EU as a global green actor by examining the policies and legal instruments deployed in practice. In particular, the direct or indirect use of traditional trade or development cooperation policy instruments can be analysed within the context of contemporary global environmental challenges and compliance with internationally agreed commitments. The export of the EU’s ‘green’ instruments may be analysed in view of their effectiveness and equity, including the attempt to create a global carbon market modelled after its own emissions trading scheme, or the promotion of other ‘green’ laws, as well as the impact and effectiveness of its financial instruments. Other critical perspectives questioning asymmetrical power relations, the ethics of offsetting, as well as justice issues in presumed mechanisms of green transition are also welcome (for instance, in relation to minerals).
The third theme is dedicated to case-studies on the implementation of EU environmental standards and norms in partner countries through critical perspectives, including the prisms of compliance, divergence, and convergence dynamics. These case-studies may include both regional and bilateral perspectives. To name a few, the following issues could be explored: the role and receptiveness of internal actors in the partner countries, including the role of the civil society and public participation; policy coherence concerning EU external environmental action and conflict zones or fragile states; quest for climate justice in relations with partners in the Global South and others.
The international expert seminar aims to provide a forum where scholars, experts, legal practitioners and PhD candidates can debate these important issues. It will feature keynote speeches by:
- Professor Heleen de Coninck, uu77
- Professor Christina Eckes, University of Amsterdam
- Professor Nicolas de Sadeleer, UCLouvain
Call for Papers
We invite interested scholars and practitioners to submit proposals for papers, preferably aligning with one of the three themes outlined above. Accepted contributions will eventually be incorporated in an edited volume appearing with a reputable publisher.
The abstract should be no longer than 300 words. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 28 February 2025. Abstracts can be submitted to eueea.conference [at] ru.nl (eueea[dot]conference[at]ru[dot]nl).
The conference will take place on Thursday 12 (13.30-18.00) and Friday 13 (9.00-12.30) June in Huize Heyendael, uu77 (Geert Grooteplein Noord 9, 6525EZ) in Nijmegen.
