The EU’s sustainable development strategy was initially formulated at the Göteborg European Council in June 2001, in accordance with an undertaking made at the review conference held 5 years after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)19.
Par ailleurs, le traité d’Amsterdam20 conclu en 1997 érigeait le développement durable en objectif central de l’Union européenne, comme stipulé aux articles 221, 3 et 622 du traité consolidé.