PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

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5.2.3 From the Maastricht Treaty to the Treaty of Amsterdam
Despite these important steps forward, sustainable development was still not yet
fully mainstreamed into EU policy. In the 1992 Treaty on European Union (TEU, or
Maastricht Treaty) the concept of sustainability is mentioned in the first substantial
paragraph, but, consistent with the glossary definition, the concept remains framed in a
context of economic growth, thus leaving issues of deep ecological challenges and social
conflict to be fought out in other arenas. The exact wording of Article 2 of the TEU is as
follows:
The Community shall have as its task […] to promote throughout the Community a
harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities, a high
level of employment and of social protection, equality between men and women,
sustainable and non-inflationary growth, a high degree of competitiveness and
convergence of economic performance, a high level of protection and improvement of
the quality of the environment, the raising of the standard of living and quality of life
and economic and social cohesion and solidarity among Member States.”
[my emphasis]
In Article 3 of the Maastricht Treaty, the EU sets out a series of policy goals for
itself, three of which are of particular relevance to this study:
[T]he activities of the Community shall include …:
(f) a common transport policy
…
(k) the strengthening of economic and social cohesion
(l) a policy in the sphere of the environment
Additionally, Article 6 of the Maastricht Treaty demands the following:
Environmental protection requirements must be integrated into the definition and
implementation of the Community polices and activities referred to in Article 3, in
particular with a view to promoting sustainable development.