Corte di Giustizia, Causa C‑352/19 P, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale c. Commissione, sulla legittimazione ad agire
Le massime “[…] il ricorso di un ente regionale o locale non può essere equiparato al ricorso di uno Stato membro e deve, pertanto, soddisfare i presupposti di ricevibilità di cui all’articolo 263, quarto comma, TFUE (v., in tal senso, sentenza del 2 maggio 2006, Regione Siciliana/Commissione, C-417/04 p, EU:C:2006:282, punti da 21 a 24).” […]
The “Ban Amendment”: tackling environmental crime
1. Introduction On 5 December 2019, after 24 years from its adoption, the so-called “Ban Amendment”[1] to the Basel Convention entered into force. The amendment required 66 signatures and ratifications to enter into force. Efforts to gather political consensus to reach the required threshold included a multi-year country-led initiative by Indonesia and Switzerland launched in […]
A EU taxonomy to foster sustainable finance
On 17 December, the European Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement on the text of a Regulation on the creation of a classification system, or taxonomy, for sustainable economic activities[1]. The Taxonomy Regulation did not create an exhaustive list of environmentally sustainable economic activities, but instead provided a framework for the progressive development […]
Fashion industry: sustainable even beyond season?
The fashion industry has one of the most complex industrial supply chains: from design to sale, a product passes by other numerous intermediate steps, such as sourcing of materials, manufacturing and distribution, which more often than not take place in many different countries. Nowadays, apparel sourcing and manufacturing are concentrated in low-wage countries located far […]
UN principles on safe and healthy work as a fundamental right
In preparation to the fourty-second session of the Human Rights Council[1], taking place in Geneva from 9 to 27 of September 2019, UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, Baskut Tuncak, presented a set of principles to help States, businesses and […]
A new task for the European Chemicals Agency: a new stage for global chemicals policy?
The recast of the EU Regulation on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was published on the EU Official Journal on 25 June 2019[1]. While this Recast was initially intended to align the Regulation with the Lisbon Treaty, it ended up containing more substantial changes. One of the most significant changes was the assignment of new tasks […]
Council adopts Single-Use Plastic Directive
On 21 May, the Council adopted the text of the Directive on the reduction of the environmental impact of certain single use plastic items, after almost a year of negotiations with the European Parliament[1]. The European Commission presented the proposal for the single use plastics (SUP) Directive on 29 May 2018[2], and it represents one […]
Plastic waste becomes hazardous under the Basel Convention
On 10 May 2019, during the joint Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention, 187 states adopted a decision which aims at regulating global trade in plastic waste through a legally-binding mechanism[1]. At the same time, Parties also established a Partnership on Plastic Waste to mobilise business, governments, academia, civil […]
