On Thursday 5 March, all the European Environment Ministers expressed their deepest concerns about the impact on human health and the environment of air pollution, which is responsible for 400,000 premature deaths per year in the EU – “a silent killer”, as Luxembourg’s Green Minister, Carole Dieschbourg, pointed out.
Their discussion was based on the EU legislation fitness check on ambient air quality, which they supported, recognising that much remains to be done to achieve the objectives of reducing the impact of this scourge on public health – particularly in urban areas – and the environment, although EU directives have made significant progress.
The conclusions they adopted on air quality are the result of a compromise for which the Croatian Minister of Environment and Energy and President of the Council, Tomislav Ćorić, was thanked. They are intended to guide the Commission in the review of limit values provided for in the European Green Deal, which aims to move towards zero pollution. The EU Council stresses the importance of seeking to align with the values recommended by the WHO, in particular the average exposure index.
The Netherlands and Austria, supported by many delegations, reportedly would have liked to go further to make the EU more proactive, but unanimity could not be reached. The Commission welcomed the clear link with the WHO guidelines.
“The draft text gives clear indications to the Commission in areas where Member States see ways to reduce such pollution. As regards the level of ambition, there is an urgent need to take more resolute action to reduce air pollution. The Commission will do its utmost to tackle this fundamental problem”, said Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius.
The EU Council welcomes the Commission’s objective to further combat pollution through preventive and remedial measures. It underlines the importance of examining, on the basis of the directive fitness check, whether the current legal framework should be revised to allow for more effective implementation and enforcement in the light of the latest scientific evidence on the impacts of air pollution on human health and the environment. It mentions the importance of reducing pollution in the Mediterranean. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)