ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines sustainable development as a European Union (EU) law objective, principle and rule. The argument is presented that the codification of the sustainable development principle in Article 11 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) has significant legal implications for the institutions of the EU, entailing direct obligations on all levels: law making, administration, supervision and judicial control. The possibility of bringing an action against an EU institution for the failure to act before the Court of Justice, which may order an institution to act, supports the argument that there is a general duty for the EU institutions to work towards the achievement of the overarching objectives. The European Council is an important political institution, an institutionalisation of the former summits, which is to 'provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and shall define the general political directions and priorities thereof'.
