From Compliance to Transformation: How EU Sustainability Law Shapes Candidate Countries
The presentation was delivered on 4 June 2025 within the University of Oslo Sustainability Law Digital Lunch Seminar.
Prof. Dr Mirjana Drenovak-Ivanović analysed how EU sustainability legislation affects legal reforms in candidate countries. Particular attention was given to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and EU Taxonomy.
The lecture distinguished formal compliance from broader institutional and market transformation and examined challenges to implementation in the legal and economic conditions of Western Balkan countries.
The seminar showed that the influence of EU law in candidate countries is not achieved solely through formal transposition of directives. Corporate obligations, investor requirements and sustainability-data rules can change national institutions and business practice even before accession. The analysis informed the modernisation of JMC EECL teaching on European integration, corporate accountability and the relationship between the green and legal transitions.