The Participation of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission in the Process of Concluding International Agreements on Climate Protection

Abstract

For many years the European Union has aspired to be the leader of global climate protection policy. By setting increasingly ambitious challenges in its efforts against global warming, the EU has tried to encourage other countries to compete in this field at international level. In this article, the authors present the roles of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission in the process of concluding international agreements on climate protection. The division of competences between the two institutions is important in the situation when the agreements are concluded within Union’s non-exclusive competence such as the one in the field of environmental protection. In case of such agreements both the Union and its Member States are contracting parties. However, not only the division of competences is at the centre of the EU external action, but also the development of appropriate solutions that will ensure the effective achievement of climate policy objectives.