ABSTRACT
The European Union (EU) is committed to a policy of sustainable development in an attempt to reconcile its historical commitment to economic development with its new concern to protect the environment. This Chapter examines whether this new commitment can in practice help to reconcile economic and environmental interests within the Union, including the factors that operate against such a reconciliation. The Chapter examines only those factors that are related to the Union as a whole, as opposed to specific policy sectors, member-states or regions, all of which are addressed by other contributions to this volume.
