EU External Relations Law on Trade and Sustainable Development: The Evolving Nature of EU Law and Policy Constraints

Abstract

EU External Relations Law and Policy significantly evolved since the seminal Singapore Opinion in the Court of Justice (ECJ). This paper analyses the new trade and sustainable development (TSD) policies by the European Union (EU) and highlights how the changes at the EU domestic level in the course of the EU Green Deal have fundamentally changed the outlook for EU external action and even changed EU External Relations Law in the process. The use of constitutional objectives in external relations is now firmly established but the new mix of autonomous and cooperative elements also changes the more fundamental principles on which EU foreign relations are based.While the EU is still finding the right balance between autonomous measures and international cooperation, the new flexibility, particularly to address global sustainable development challenges and in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) allow the EU greater foreign policy flexibility in areas covered by global targets such as the SDGs, the Paris Agreement and the new Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. It is argued that the existence of global goals and targets combined with EU internal action in the context of the EU Green Deal fundamentally change the availability and legality of EU External Relations Law on Trade and Sustainability.