The Case for Enshrining a Right to Environment within EU Law

Since the Single European Act in 1987, the European Union has had increasing competence to legislate on environmental matters. However, while the EU must now integrate environmental protection requirements into the definition and implementation of its policies and activities, there is no explicit protection of a 'right to environment' within Union law. The absence of such a right is unsurprising, as the debate on the existence and applicability of environmental rights is both recent and unresolved.