Treading the environment- trade nexus: coherence of EU trade agreements and WTO law with the European Green Deal

The objective of the project is to provide a legal and policy analysis on the trade-environment nexus. The Report was commissioned by BEUC - the European Consumer Organisation to assess specifically the coherence of the EU’s bilateral trade agreements and key WTO Agreements with the European Green Deal (EGD). Focusing on three less researched issue areas within the EGD - sustainable use of natural resources, public health and animal welfare -- the Report concluded that while both EU trade agreements and WTO law are in many respects coherent with the Green Deal, the coherence is mostly weak, and there multiple areas of incoherence. The report recommends ways how the EU may improve, for example, the impact assessments and the design of the trade agreements, as well as points to areas where WTO law could be further developed, such as a better inclusion of consumer perspectives.