EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND THE STRATEGY ‘EUROPE 2020’

The evolution of European environmental policy is examined in this paper in conjunction with the objectives of developmental strategy ‘Europe 2020’. The possibility of being mutually supportive with the objectives of environmental policy is a key issue in this paper. It might be argued that the current economic crisis has negative impacts upon the overall achievements of the European Union. In this light, the success of the implemented strategy can be said to be a necessity. The approach in this paper is based on the contention that adopting environmental protection objectives, apart from moral and sustainable reasons, is amongst the most important apparatus for overcoming economic downturn, given that the European Union is able to reduce its dependence on imported energy resources and take advantage of its leadership on environmental technology.