The Role of the Principle of Environmental Integration (Article 11 TFEU) in Maximising the "Greening" of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Aware of the harmful effect that agriculture can have on the environment--and particularly on global warming--EU policy-makers in the last three decades have been trying to integrate sustainable development into the design of EU agriculture. However, notwithstanding the measures taken in the 2013 reform to "green" the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the overall delivery of environmental benefits appears to be very limited. Taking as a point of departure the absence of any mention of sustainable development in the overarching goals of EU agricultural policy, this article will assess to what extent the principle of environmental integration may be able to bridge this gap, if at all. In this connection, an in-depth analysis will be carried out on the influence that the principle may exert on the EU legislator and its potential role in triggering judicial review an and environmentally sound interpretation of EU secondary legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]