We are pleased to announce a third session of the 2020 EULawSD webinar series, which will take place on 13 July 2020 at 2pm CEST. Alessandra Donati, Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law, will join us for a dialogue on ‘The Precautionary Principle Under EU Law: a Brake or a Lever to Sustainable Development?’. The webinar will be visible on EULawSD’s YouTube channel and at this link.
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About the webinar
Set forth by Article 191 § 2 TFUE and embedded in several EU directives and regulations, the precautionary principle is a principle of anticipated action that requires the competent authorities to anticipate the traditional time for the adoption of a measure to protect the environment and public health. This means that decision-makers shall not wait until the risk is certain, from a scientific point of view, but shall act before when the risk is only uncertain.
From this perspective – by preventing the occurrence of majors risks for the environment and public health – the precautionary principle can be considered as a corollary for the achievement of the objective of sustainable development under Article 3 § 3 TUE. Despite its importance for the attainment of sustainable development, the precautionary principle has not been mentioned by the EU Commission in the 2016 communications identifying the framework for the implementation under EU law of the SDGs, and for the time being, is not included in the EU Green Deal. Likewise, the EU institutions have neglected the precautionary principle when dealing with some of the major risks – like pesticides and endocrine disruptors – which could have an impact on the attainment of sustainable development.
Against this backdrop, can we consider that the precautionary principle is a brake or a lever to sustainable development under EU law? To answer this question, and based on the most recent legal texts and case law, the webinar will identify the main advantages and disadvantages of the application of the precautionary principle to the benefit of the present and future generations..
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About the Speaker
Alessandra Donati is a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Procedural law in Luxembourg. She obtained her PHD at the University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne with a thesis on the precautionary principle under EU law. Alessandra holds a degree in law from the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi (Milan) and in economics from the Università Politecnica delle Marche (Ancona). She also holds an LL.M. in French and European Law from the University Paris 1- Panthéon Sorbonne. Alessandra is a member of both the Italian (Milan) and French (Paris) Bar Association.
Before joining the Max Planck Institute as a research fellow, Alessandra practiced law for several years as an attorney in Milan at Chiomenti Studio Legale and in Paris at Castaldi Partners law office. Alessandra is currently teaching at SciencesPo (campus of Nancy) and at the University of Luxembourg. She specializes in European Union law, and namely in EU environmental and food law.