The Effects of CETA on the Continuous Implementation of the Precautionary Principle within the European Union

摘要

After seven years of negotiations, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was finally approved and signed on 30 October 2016. It entered into force provisionally on 21 September 2017. A landmark deal between Canada and the European Union, CETA aims to establish regulatory branches in which the European Union, as opposed to Canada, will apply the precautionary principle as enshrined in European treaties, laws, and jurisprudence. Critics of CETA in Europe fear that it will result in a lowering of EU safety standards. In order to determine the legitimacy of such criticism, this article will analyse the relevant provisions of CETA to determine whether the deal will actually contribute to the weakening of the precautionary principle in Europe, which in turn would inevitably lead to a deterioration in environmental and human health standards.