The aim of this book is to discuss the role played by the precautionary principle when deciding on regulatory action in relation to risks posed to modern society, and the effects that such action may have for European and international trade. Primarily, this discussion aims to address the issue of how the European Union (EU) currently makes use of the principle, and what lessons the EU institutions and Member States should draw from the use of precautionary considerations in a number of national and international regulatory regimes.

The last 30 years have brought a new awareness of the hidden costs of industrialisation and the welfare state. Suddenly, societies experience the realisation of risks which they did not know that they had created. Such risks include the highly publicised and potentially catastrophic, such as climate change, but also more hidden risks, such as the long-term effects of exposure to chemicals and low-frequency radiation from, for example, mobile phones and electricity networks. Other potential risks are possibly created through the development of new technologies such as gene modification. At the same time, the emergence of highly integrated regional and global markets for trade in goods and services has limited the possibilities for individual states to successfully enact national risk regulatory strategies.

What connects many of the risks that societies are faced with today is the uncertainty which surrounds them. In many cases, the link between an activity and a risk has not been scientifically established.