1. THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN THE EU AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
by Luchino Ferraris
2017 EELF Conference - Copenhagen

2. Agriculture and the Environment: a Two-way relationship
Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) contributes to about 24% of the overall GHG emissions worldwide
(IPCC, Mitigation of Climate Change: Fifth Assessment Report [2014])
Agriculture alone is supposed to contribute to about 10.3% of GHG emissions in the EU
(EEA, Agriculture and Climate Change [2015])
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

3. Phasing environmental concerns in the CAP
The legal basis: Art. 192 (Environment) or Art. 43 TFEU (Agriculture)?
No reference to sustainable development in the objectives of the CAP (Art. 39 TFEU)
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

4. Legal Value vs Legal Significance
“Environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and implementation of the Union’s policies and activities, in particular with a view to promoting sustainable development” (Art. 11 TFEU)
What does it encompass?
Legal Value vs Legal Significance
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

5. Legal Significance: Three Ambits
Law-Making: Introducing Higher Environmental Standards through EU Agricultural Legislation
Judicial Review: Sanctioning EU Legislation Disrespectful of Environmental Considerations
Environmentally Sound Interpretation of EU Legislation
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

6. First Ambit: Law-making (How?)
2013 CAP Reform: Fight against Climate Change as one of the Leading Values
Pillar I (Reg (EU) 1307/2013): The «Greening Measures» (+ Equivalent Practices)
Pillar II (Reg (EU) 1305/2013): Additional Funding for more Targeted Measures
Crop Diversification
Permanent Grassland
Ecological Focus Areas
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

7. First Ambit: Law-making (Problems)
«Greening» through Pillar I vs through Pillar II
Weak Environmental Delivery of the Single Measures
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

8. Second Ambit: Judicial Review
Scope of the Review: Was the Principle Duly Taken into Account by EU Institutions While Legislating on EU Agricultural Law?
Little Justiciability: Manifest Inappropriateness or Manifest Error of Appraisal (Cf. Case C-341/95 Bettati v Safety Hi-Tech Srl [1998] ECR I-4355 para. 32)
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

9. Third Ambit: Environmentally Sound Interpretation
Is it Always Possible to Choose the most Environmentally Sound Interpretation?
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

10. Conclusions: Outcomes of Art. 11 TFEU
1. Remarkable – but Insufficient - Efforts at the Law-Making Level 2. Almost Non-Existent Judicial Review of Agricultural Legislation on the Basis of the Lack of Environmental Consideration 3. Marginal Role of the Environmentally Sound Interpretation to Boost Environmental Protection
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

11. Bibliography (essential)
Ferraris L, ‘The Role of the Principle of Environmental Integration (Art. 11 TFEU) in Maximising the “Greening” of the Common Agricultural Policy’ European Law Review (forthcoming, 2018);
Dhondt N, Integration of Environmental Protection in Other EC Policies (ELP 2003) 532;
Hart K and Baldock D, Greening the Cap: Delivering Environmental Outcomes Through Pillar One [2011] Institute for European Environmental Policy papers <
Jans J H, ‘Stop the Integration Principle?’ (2010) 33 Fordham Int’l L. J. 1533;
Matthews A, ‘Greening the Common Agricultural Policy Post-2013’ (2012) 47 Intereconomics 326;
Nollkaemper A, ‘Three Conceptions of the Integration Principle in International Environmental Law’ in Lenschow A (ed), Environmental Policy Integration: Greening Sectoral Policies in Europe (Earthscan Publications 2002) 250, 22;
Petrescu-Mag R M and Burny P, The Principle of Environmental Integration Under Scrutiny. An Analytical Legal Framework on How EU Policies are Becoming Green (Accent 2015) 224;
de Sadeleer N, ‘Sustainable Development in EU Law: Still a Long Way to Go’ (2015) 6 Jindal Global L. Rev. 39;
Schumacher S, ‘The Environmental Integration Clause in Article 6 of the EU Treaty: Prioritising Environmental Protection’ (2001) 3 Env L Rev 29;
Sjåfjell B, ‘The Legal Significance of Article 11 TFEU for EU Institutions and Member States’ in Sjåfjell B and Wiesbrock A (eds), The Greening of European Business under EU Law: Taking Article 11 TFEU Seriously (Routledge 2015) 206, 51;
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector

12. Thank you! Luchino.ferraris.mail@gmail.com
The Achievement of Environmental Protection in the EU Agricultural Sector