Brussels, 11/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - With a very clear feeling that the environment has been sidelined among the political priorities of the Juncker Commission, ten environmental NGOs active across all 28 member states stepped up to the parapet on Thursday 11 September, to express their grievances in an open letter to Jean-Claude Juncker (see EUROPE 11152).
They argue that: - the fact that the Commissioner for the Environment has to share this responsibility with other demanding dossiers (Maritime Affairs, Fisheries) and the absence of any reference to the environment in the responsibilities of vice-presidents reflect this relegation; - the mandate of the Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries seems to be entirely focused on deregulation, as a request has been made to review the major initiatives underway without any mention of new objectives for the EU to strive towards; - the fact that his mission statement featured the intention of looking at changes to the legislation on nature protection suggests that biodiversity protection is to be watered down; - the merger of the Climate and Energy portfolios and the fact that the competent commissioner will be placed under the authority of a vice-president of the Energy Union could imply that Climate Action has become subordinated to considerations related to the energy market; - Miguel Arias Canete's connections with the oil industry bode ill.
They also regret the fact that responsibility for relations with the European chemicals agency has been transferred from DG Environment to DG Enterprise and the fact that sustainable development, resource efficiency and the green economy have not been devolved to any vice-president. (AN)