Mercosur and the importance of a harmonized environmental legislation

Abstract

The present article proposes a brief analysis of the construction of the Southern Common Market – Mercosur and tries to demonstrate that, despite the advances in the process of political and economic integration of the regional bloc, there is little progress on the issue of sustainable development and on the environmental problems, subjects that occupy a secondary place at the integration agenda of Mercosur. In the first part of this paper, it was realized a brief bibliographical and historical survey of primary and secondary sources, in order to present the development of the discussions and the deepening of the integration process. Afterwards, through the capture and the organization of the environmental legislation of each Member State of the bloc, the article endeavored to show that environmental laws and those related with the sustainable development of nations that signed the Treaty of Asunción are not harmonized. Furthermore, there is no common politic of environmental sustainability in the regional integration process. In conclusion, the paper aimed to present that the environmental and the sustainable development are themes highlighted in international relations. The harmonization of the law about this issue in the Member States of Mercosur would decrease the difference in environmental treatment and the conflict between the legislation of the Member States. This harmonization, in addition, would avoid the company´s investments transferences between the Member States as a way to circumvent the environmental legislation of a particular state, besides of increases the credibility of the Mercosur as a responsible and mature forum that is concerned about the demands of the international agenda.