European competition and environmental laws at a crossroad: An environmentally friendly meeting?

Dadomo, Christian

Abstract

Since the adoption and implementation of the EC Treaty, competition law has been one of the cornerstones of the European construction and of the open single market. Derogations to its rules are limited and applied restrictively.
Equally, though at a later stage in the European integration process, environmental protection has also become one of the European Union’s “essential objectives” as the Court of Luxembourg recognised it in its well-known cases Procureur de la République v Association de la Défense des Brûleurs d’Huiles Usagées and Commission v Denmark . Furthermore, under article 6 of the EC Treaty, one of the main principles underlying European environmental policies is that of the integration of environmental considerations into other European policies, including European competition policy.
By nature, environmental protection sometimes requires the conclusion of agreements, the granting of state financial aids or even the exercise of certain activities by a body in a monopoly position. Under those circumstances, environmental law may clash with competition rules.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference 2004
• Start Date: Sep 13, 2004
• End Date: Sep 14, 2004
• Acceptance Date: Sep 14, 2004
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 9, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: EU competition law, EU environmental law
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1057922
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference Sheffield 2004