EU기능조약상의 환경보호체계에 관한 고찰 －환경 관련 통상조항을 중심으로 -

Abstract

The Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force December 1 of 2009, is the impetus for change in the EU system. Thanks to the treaty, the EU now has legal personality and can officially take part in the global affairs using its own name. Also the treaty amended most of the TEU and renamed the Treaty establishing the European Community to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Since the 1990s, global concern over the environment is growing and countries all over the world are doing their best to implement the mandatory reduction of greenhouse gases of the Kyoto Protocol. Bearing this trend in mind, the EU has diligently focused on preserving the environment by imposing various conservation measures and now is regarded by the international community as a model case in environmental protection and greenhouse gas reduction. But the probability of these EU measures acting as potential trade barriers against countries wanting to export to the EU is very high. As a result, the study over trade related environmental regulations of the EU is thriving in Korea. But even though an understanding of these regulations must be grounded on a basic knowledge of the provisions on environment and trade in the Treaty on the functioning of the EU, it is difficult to find such research. In other words, much of the scholarship is concentrated on specialized research supported by the industry and related organizations, while analysis on the provisions which are the prerequisites for such research is rare. This paper first reviews article 3 of the TEU, which declares the environment protection principle and is the fundamental clause on environment preservation inside the EU; articles 191-193, which constitutes part 20 of the TFEU and specifies the above principles; article 114, which stipulates the harmonization of domestic laws of EU member states; and other clauses directly regulating issues on the environment and their interrelation. Then it will touch upon articles 34 and 35, the key provisions on import and export quotas, and analyze, inter alia, how to interpret the exceptional clause of article 36 and what the current environmental trend of its interpretation is. Finally, this paper examines ‘rule of reason’ which has been developing through the ECJ rulings for the protection of environment. Expectations of an increase in trade with the EU are high after concluding the negotiation of the Korea-EU FTA in July 2009, but these hopes might be dashed because of the EU’s trade measures targeted on protecting the environment. These trade measures are based on various regulations or directives which are grounded on environment related provisions of the EU treaties. Without an accurate understanding of these undertakings, the strategies Korean export firms can use when entering into the EU market are bound to be limited. Furthermore,considering the possibility of Korean small businesses abandoning export plans due to a lack of understanding on these barriers, the Korean government should provide a comprehensive program to lend aid to these small businesses. Also,Korea should actively adopt promising EU environmental measures to prepare beforehand for the ‘Age of Global Warming’.