Legal Preconditions for an Environmentally Sustainable European Union

Abstract

Resilience is increasingly described as a prerequisite for a sustainable EU. Against this backdrop, Langlet looks at the potential of EU environmental law, widely construed, to create and maintain conditions for environmental resilience, and thereby support the realization of a sustainable society. He does this by assessing to what extent EU law has some of the characteristics widely considered key to the successful management of social-ecological systems. Among these are the ability to generate knowledge on the state of the environment, formulate relevant management objectives, pursue management at relevant scales, as well as ability to adapt in light of changing conditions and new knowledge. Langlet finds that although EU law has gradually developed the desired characteristics, much remains to be done for example in terms of integrating environmental considerations into other policy areas. The EU also remains highly dependent on the resources and capabilities of individual member states for both know-how and policy measures.