Thesis title: The Extraterritorial Reach of EU Environmental Law
This thesis examines the legal foundations and limits of the extraterritorial application of European Union environmental law. It investigates how the Union’s unilateral environmental measures produce effects that extend beyond its territory and evaluates their compatibility with the general principles of public international law and the multilateral trade regime of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Through a doctrinal and case-based analysis, the research reconstructs the legal reasoning that allows the EU to project its environmental standards globally while remaining within the boundaries of international legality.
The study first delineates what constitutes EU environmental law and identifies the features that render certain measures extraterritorial in effect, such as market-access conditions, import restrictions, and compliance obligations imposed on foreign operators. It then analyses the jurisdictional bases available under public international law for such measures, demonstrating that their legality depends on the existence of a sufficient territorial or causal nexus. While principles of universality may corroborate such jurisdictional claims, the thesis argues that this concept remains far from accepted and that any valid claim must primarily rest on a territorial basis—broadly understood to include the so-called effects doctrine.
In the WTO context, the thesis argues that environmental unilateralism is not prohibited but constrained by the principles of non-discrimination, proportionality, and procedural fairness. The interpretation of Article XX GATT and the development of the “sufficient nexus” doctrine in WTO jurisprudence have progressively legitimised trade-related environmental measures when implemented transparently and without arbitrariness. The WTO system thus functions as a legal discipline rather than a barrier, channelling unilateral measures through criteria of legitimacy and due process.
The research concludes that the European Union may lawfully extend its environmental standards beyond its borders when such measures are grounded in a genuine jurisdictional link, pursue a recognised public interest, and comply with the procedural requirements of international trade law. It also highlights the importance of greater inclusiveness and dialogue with third countries to mitigate tensions and enhance the legitimacy of EU environmental action within an interdependent legal order.