Ateneo - UPO

The course aims at giving to the students a comprehensive overview of E.U. environmental law and its relationship with the national legal orders (in particular: the Italian one). Lesson will have a "practical approach", but this part of the course will be preceded by a general introduction to E.U. Law, its sources and the relationship between E.U. Law and national law, in order to allow students to better understand the environmental issues.

Foreign Students can use a Handbook in English or their mother tongue with the agreement of the teacher.

Having attended lessons, students achieve full awareness of E.U. environmental law and its interactions with national rules; the relationship between the international framework, EU environmental law and the national enforcement, also from the private side. Furthermore, students will learn in detail the regulatory activity of the European Union in the Environmental field, in particular with regard environment protection, climate change and sustainability according to the detailed programme of the course.

None

Lectures (also with the presence of experts of the specific topic for a co-teaching approach), seminars and working groups

students are strongly recomended to attend classes. The teacher will follow the instructions given by the University with regard to the possibility to mix classes with on-line; lectures. Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via reference office consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Oral or written examination chosen by the student. The assessment will be focused on the following skills: the ability to organise and present the knowledge aquired; ability to critical reasoning; particular attention will be paid to the quality of the exhibition and the competence in the use of the specialized lexicon, performance and linearity in the exposition. The teacher could agree with students that attend lectures the possibility to make the examinations in a written form, or to make intermediate or early examinations.

GENERAL PART: Introduction to the basic concepts of European integration (what it is; historical framework; European Communities and the European Union; primary and secondary sources; relationship between EU sources and domestic sources); EU competences in environmental matters: Article 5 TEU; Article 11 TEU; Article 3 TFEU; Articles 191 et seq. TFEU; General principles in environmental matters: precaution; prevention at source of pollution; the “polluter pays” principle; environmental liability; risk analysis; The evolution of European strategies on sustainability: European Green Deal; Next Generation EU; NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan); RePowerEU; Clean Industrial Deal. SPECIAL PART: European rules on: I - Decarbonisation and the fight against climate change a) international legal framework (Washington Convention; Kyoto Protocol; Paris Agreement); b) European Climate Law; c) “Fit for 55” package; d) EU ETS and CBAM directives; e) Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75); f) climate litigations. II - Circularity and waste a) Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP); b) Directive 2008/98 on waste and Directive 2019/904 on single-use plastics (SUP); c) promotion of recycling/reuse: Directive 2018/849 on end-of-life vehicles, batteries and accumulators; Directive 2018/852 on packaging and packaging waste (updated by Regulation 2025/40); ecodesign regulation (Regulation 2023/1542). III - Environmental protection: a) Habitats Directive (1992/43); b) Birds Directive (2009/147); c) Nature Restoration Regulation (2024/1991); d) Deforestation Regulation (2023/1115); e) Water Framework Directive (2000/60); f) Clean Air Directive (2008/50); g) Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56); h) Regulation on the prevention of invasive alien species (1143/2014); i) Environmental Liability Directive (2004/35); j) REACH Regulation. IV - Sustainability in supply chains: a) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive; b) Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive; c) Green Taxonomy Regulation (2020/852).

At the end of the course students are supposed to have acquired the following skills: awareness of the European integration process in its historical, political, economic and juridical premises; knowledge of the EU institutional framework and of the sources of the European Union law; knowledge of the juridical relationship between the two legal orders and of the judicial proceedings in the ambit of the ECJ jurisdiction; knowledge of the environmental EU law. Students must also demonstrate that they have acquired a good competence in terms of analysis of cases, texts or EU rules, capability to identify the fundamental elements of a specific topic (synthesis), find solutions to the most common issues in the ambit of the EU environmental law and of its relationship with national legal orders/national rules.