The EU Council draft conclusions on the Eighth Environmental Action Programme (8th EAP) are being better defined and refined in light of a new compromise by the Portuguese Presidency, which clarifies the formulation of the objectives pursued and the arrangements for revising the programme after 2025.
Dated 18 February, this compromise is due to be examined, on Tuesday 23 February, by the EU Council’s Environment Working Party.
The text, as seen by EUROPE, states that the 8th EAP should accelerate the green transition to a circular, climate-neutral, resource-efficient and clean economy in a fair and inclusive manner, protecting, preserving, sustainably using and restoring biodiversity and enhancing the Union’s natural capital, as well as protecting the health and well-being of citizens from environmental risks and impacts. In doing so, the 8th EAP should contribute to an economy of wellbeing and a regenerative economy that gives back to the planet more than it takes.
According to the compromise, the revision of the programme will be based on the Commission’s mid-term progress review report (Article 1), any other policy developments and the European Environment Agency’s report called ‘The European environment – state and outlook 2020’.
It is mentioned in Article 1 that a reference to the actions envisaged in theEuropean Green Deal is presented for information purposes only. It is further specified in Article 4a (revision clause) that the Commission shall present, by 31 March 2025 at the latest, a legislative proposal to add to the 8th EAP an Annex for the period after 2025 containing the list of actions necessary to achieve the priority objectives set out in Article 2(2) and the respective timetable for these actions.
The Environment Working Party will also examine the monitoring framework for the 8th EAP suggested by the Commission in a consultative document dated 17 February.
To consult the Commission document: http://bit.ly/3aFNqSc (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)