Stop the Integration Principle?

Lord Slynn of Hadley is probably not primarily known as an environmental lawyer. His contributions to the development of European environmental law are, however, considerable. On May 24, 1988, Slynn delivered his famous opinion in the so-called “Danish Bottles” case. In that case, the European Court of Justice (”ECJ”) held that a system requiring manufacturers and importers to market beer and soft drinks only in reusable containers (which had to be approved by a National Agency for the Protection of the Environment) was subject to what is now article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (”TFEU”) since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force. The importance of this judgment is that it enabled and facilitated the integration of environmental considerations into the market freedoms of the European Community (later the European Union). This Essay, in memory of Lord Slynn of Hadley, is therefore devoted to the process of integrating environmental requirements in other areas.