Introduction: Greening the EU and the rule of law – opportunities and limits of the EU’s legal powers

Abstract

This introductory chapter sets the stage for Greening Europe and the Rule of Law — Opportunities and Limits of the EU’s Legal Powers, an edited volume that examines the European Green Deal through the lens of the rule of law. The editors introduce each chapter and outline the key themes explored across the book’s four parts: constitutional questions, market mechanisms, enforcement and liability, and the EU’s global influence. They explain how the volume seeks to initiate and advance academic and legal debate on the legal foundations underpinning the instruments implementing the Green Deal, and the challenge of achieving the much needed green transformation: EU institutions have had to navigate the tensions between the law’s enabling function — which constrains polluting behaviour — and its limiting function — which restricts governmental intervention.