Anita Boros, Gyula Koi (eds): Sustainability and Law
›
5. Legislation on Sustainability in the European Union law (László Vértesy)
›
5.2.Primary law

5.2.Primary law

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

From a legal-theoretical viewpoint, the Treaty on European Union (abbr. TEU) and Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (abbr. TFEU) serve as the constitutional basis for the European Union. They are primary law that has status and effect similar to a constitution in a federation. In contrast, the Charter of Fundamental Rights (abbr. CFR) is also binding primary law, with the same rank as the Treaties, but acts more normatively as a rights-based overlay within the EU across its jurisdiction, than as a structural-operational provision along with the TEU and TFEU.1 Clearly, the TEU provides the ideational basis of sustainability; the TFEU provides the legal-operational mechanisms; and the Charter nests sustainability as a principle under the EU’s fundamental rights framework. Together, they can be understood as a model of constitutional sustainability, with three primary components.
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Figure 35. Comparison of the TEU, TFEU and CFR in the relation of Sustainability. Source: Compiled by the author
Dimension
TEU
TFEU
CFR
Legal Role
Foundational / Ideational
Functional / Operational
Rights-Based / Normative
Type of Sustainability Norm
Teleological (goal-based)
Regulatory (policy-based)
Interpretive Principle
Primary Provisions
Articles 3(3), 3(5)
Articles 11, 191–193
Article 37
Enforcement Potential
Limited (framework)
High (legislative competence)
Moderate (soft-constitutional)
SDG Alignment
Vision-setting
Implementation-enabling
Rights-legitimising
Theoretical Lens
Supra-national ethics
Governance and legal pluralism
Green constitutionalism
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

This evolution can be seen not only in their negotiated, textual commitments, but also in the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (abbr. CJEU) and the EU’s normative arrangements surrounding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (abbr. SDGs). Altogether, these instruments and institutions have established sustainability as a structural principle of EU integration, rather than an aspirational policy. The treaty framework has engendered the EU’s main policy instruments. The European Sustainable Development Strategy (2001, revised 2006) sought to implement Article 3 TEU and Article 11 TFEU across all sectors. The European Green Deal (2019), which was initiated under the von der Leyen Commission, employs these treaty obligations in a unified program of legislative change including energy, biodiversity, circular economy and mobility. Furthermore, the European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 package are also explicitly framed as mechanisms for the delivery of both treaty obligations and SDGs. These instruments represent how treaty provisions, judicial enforcement and global goals can be mutually supporting strands of the EU’s sustainability model.
 

5.2.1. Treaty on the European Union

5.2.2. Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

5.2.3. Charter of Fundamental Rights

1 Kellerbauer, M., Klamert, M., & Tomkin, J. (2024). The EU Treaties and Charter of Fundamental Rights: a Commentary. (Oxford:Oxford University Press). Print ISBN: 9780198913689 Online ISBN: 9780191988196 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780198913689.001.0001
chevron_left
chevron_right
Tartalomjegyzék navigate_next
Keresés a kiadványban navigate_next
A kereséshez, kérjük, lépj be!
Könyvjelzőim navigate_next
A könyvjelzők használatához
be kell jelentkezned.
Jegyzeteim navigate_next
Jegyzetek létrehozásához
be kell jelentkezned.
    Kiemeléseim navigate_next
    Mutasd a szövegben:
    Szűrés:
    Kiemelések létrehozásához
    MeRSZ+ előfizetés szükséges.
      Útmutató elindítása
      delete
      Kivonat
      fullscreenclose
      printsave