The European Union and Protection of Environment in Eastern Partnership Countries

According to the European Union’s primary law, the Union has been mandated with the promotion and protection of environment inside and outside of her territory. In the absence of effective international environmental conventions, the EU has been left with few options in fulfilling her environmental protection mandate. First, it can take the initiator and become a global leader in the elaboration of international environmental agreements. Second, the EU has the option of establishing export standards which subjects all exports of the Union to third countries to internal market’s environmental standards. Third, the EU can set the same standards for imported products from third countries. The final option is to form regional agreements between the EU and third countries and follow the goal of environmental protection at regional level. The current chapter will focus on the last option and efforts of the EU to promote environmental protection standards outside her territories in the framework of the Eastern Partnership Program. This paper studies the environmental status quo and challenges which EaP partner countries are facing, as well as the effects of EU approximation on the environment and climate change of the above-mentioned countries. The paper also describes the tools that are used by the EU in order to implement her environmental initiatives in EaP countries and that are necessary for achieving the most from the application of such tools in each country and at regional level.