Even though the sustainable development concept has been largely debated in the literature and its essence is very clear, the way in which it is implemented differs between countries and regions. The main challenge for the European Union is to tackle the differences in the development level...

It is often argued that policies designed to protect the environment may harm economic growth. Moreover, if introduced unilaterally by a given country, they may reduce the competitiveness of domestic firms. These arguments are generally based on the assumption that environmental protection has...