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According to the Lisbon Treaty, EU trade policy must address developmental, environmental, and social objectives

The EU's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) consists of three arrangements: standard GSP; Everything But Arms (EBA); and GSP+, which offers additional tariff reductions to "vulnerable" countries that implement international standards in the fields of human rights, core labour standards, sustainable development, and good governance

In October 2010, the EU adopted legislation that prohibits placing illegally harvested timber and timber products containing such timber on the EU market, although timber and timber products covered by valid licences or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora are considered to comply with the requirements of the new Regulation

Pursuant to the EU's "Better Regulation Policy", all "major" policy initiatives and legislative proposals "with potential significant economic, social, and environmental impacts" must undergo impact assessment

WTO Members have discussed concerns in the SPS Committee regarding several EU measures, including measures related to wood packaging material

The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is regulated at EU level on the basis of Regulation No. 1829/2003 on genetic ally modified food and feed, Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment, and Regulation 1830/2003 on the traceability and labelling of GMOs, and food and feed produced from GMOs

State aid that contributes to the achievement of "well-defined objectives of common European interest", including, inter alia, cohesion or environmental protection may be considered compatible with the EU common market, and therefore, allowed

The prolonged temporary framework of the European Economic Recovery Plan maintains the possibility of providing subsidized guarantees and subsidized loans, including for the production of green products under stricter conditions, for instance some measures sought to ease car companies' access to finance and encourage the industry to adapt to environmental legislation

The 2004 Directives also mention the possibilities of reflecting social and environmental considerations in technical specifications, selection and award criteria, as well as contract performance clauses

In July 2008, the Commission issued a communication "Public procurement for a better environment ", which proposed that 50% of all public tendering procedure should be green by 2010, where " green " means compliant with core Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria set out by the Commission in the Communication