External Trade Policies

Internal and external trade policies are among the core activities of the EU. Removing trade barriers and create conditions that foster economic growth are the main objectives of the EU. Completing the internal market must contribute to the growth and economic health of the EU. Some measures for the internal market are directly relevant to the environment, economic growth and trade but also have indirect effects on the environment by such an increase in freight, emissions, and use of natural resources.

The EU has developed a strong internal environmental agenda, including many policies are aimed at providing social and environmental protection without distorting the internal market. These internal regulations are instigated only after a long debate on many issues now also be discussed at an international level, in the context of foreign trade and the World Trade Organization (WTO). A parallel can be drawn in particular in applying the precautionary principle and related issues of risk and the possibility of Member States to stricter standards than those of the EU to apply the interest environment.

While a discussion of the internal market and the environment can be seen as a part of the wider debate about free trade and the environment, some aspects differ, depending on the position. Thus, the EU eco-label (see § 11.7) for example can be seen as a way of synergy between the internal market and protecting the environment, because ultimately the national eco-labels would replace what may have preferred a home products (such as the German “Blue Angel”, and the Scandinavian Nordic Swan). But seen from outside the EU, the EU ecolabel criticized as a means of goods from the EU advantage over imported goods from elsewhere.