La oportunidad de una cláusula ambiental de elementos esenciales en acuerdos comerciales de la Unión Europea con Estados tercerosa propósito del Acuerdo Unión Europea-Mercosur

Resum

This document reflects on the desirability of introducing a clause that expressly qualifying environmental protection aspects as an essential element of the European Union trade treaties. In this area, the democratic clause already has a broad implementation in the adoption of trade treaties, and provides a background which helps to assess the possible advantages and limits of the use of this type of provision. Throughout the research, the 2019 agreement on trade and investment concluded between the European Union and Mercosur is used as a case study. Of particular interest in this agreement is the question of the opportunity of an essential elements clause with an environmental content, as it affects the chances of the agreement being finally adopted. The analysis of this agreement makes it possible to draw some conclusions on the advisability of introducing this type of clause in the treaty, so that it could be of general application to the European Union’s trade agreements with third countries.