The book examines the integration of environmental protection requirements
into EU external relations focusing on unilateral, bilateral and inter-regional
instruments, which have been less explored than the multilateral dimension of EU
environmental policy. The book also explores for the first time the complex interplay
and mutual influences between EU environmental integration initiatives and
environmental multilateralism. On the one hand it identifies the legal and other
instruments used by the EU to support the implementation of multilateral environmental
agreements in third countries (particularly developing ones). On the
other hand, it singles out the legal and other tools employed by the EU as a means
to build partnerships with third countries in order to influence ongoing multilateral
negotiations concerning the environment and sustainable development, or to
contribute to the development of new international environmental norms in the
absence of such multilateral negotiations. Ultimately, the book traces the significant
evolution of, and complex interaction between, the various tools deployed by
the EU to integrate environmental concerns in its external relations, with a view
to identifying emerging challenges and future directions.