Brussels, 30/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission wants to find out what most people believe should be the EU's policy objectives for the seventh EU Environment Action Programme (EAP) that is currently in preparation. Draft legislation will be published later this year and therefore the proposals are likely to be brought forward before the end of the year. Thus the Commission launched an online public consultation exercise on Friday 30 March, open to stakeholders (citizens, NGOs and representatives of industry, public authorities and academic circles) until 11 June.
EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said: “The EU is home to some of the most ambitious environmental rules to be found anywhere in the world. These rules are doing a lot to protect our environment and people. But their strength depends on their implementation on the ground and we need to make them fit for new challenges. We would like to hear from citizens what we can do, together with our member states and all other stakeholders, to better protect our environment and sustain our prosperity within the planet's limits. The EU may not be able to do everything, but we would like to hear where it can have the biggest impact, and how, for improving the quality of our environment - for ourselves and for the children of our children.”
The seventh EAP should provide an overarching, coherent framework for strategic initiatives [the “roadmap” for a European Union that uses resources efficiently, the new biodiversity strategy for 2020 and the recent report on improving implementation of EU environment law (see EUROPE 10569)], setting out priority objectives and showing clearly how environment policy can contribute to green growth and deliver better health and well-being. It should secure the commitment of all actors concerned - EU institutions, member states, regional and local administrations, businesses and private sector stakeholders, NGOs and civil society - to a common agenda, namely improving the implementation and enforcement of EU environmental rules in order to deliver better environmental outcomes, making sure that other EU policies also deliver on climate and environment objectives, having access to sound evidence and the latest scientific knowledge as a basis for environmental policy-making and implementation and filling significant policy gaps, where justified by the latest scientific information and in line with the precautionary approach.
The European Parliament's environment committee has issued recommendations for the EAP (see EUROPE 10566) and the matter will be discussed by EU27 environment ministers in Copenhagen on 18-20 April this year. The Danish Presidency has already a policy for the EAP and it wants to push a green agenda to push the EU's environment policy forward in the next decade (see EUROPE 10524)
The consultation document can be found at:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/7eap_en.htm (AN/transl.fl)