The Environment Ministers of the EU27 will meet in Brussels on Tuesday 20 December to discuss the proposed EU regulation on nature restoration, one day after the closing date of the COP15 on global biodiversity (Montreal, 7-19 December) (see EUROPE 13079/11).
At this last meeting of the EU ‘Environment’ Council under the Czech Presidency, the ministers will also be informed about the status of many of the ‘European Green Deal’ dossiers for which the Swedish Presidency will take over responsibility.
Nature restoration. Proposed in June, the regulation would introduce legally binding targets for each ecosystem - forests, agricultural land, marine, freshwater and urban ecosystems - to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and marine areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050 (see EUROPE 12977/17).
In this first exchange, ministers will be asked to comment on the level of ambition of the measures and their appropriateness in terms of the issues at stake, as well as on the expected benefits of healthy ecosystems. This will give an idea of the future work.
Two questions will be put to the ministers:
1) Given the acknowledged urgency of tackling the continuing biodiversity crisis, but also of contributing to the fight against climate change and its impact on society and the economy, do you consider that the ambition of the proposal and the proposed timetable are sufficient to meet this dual challenge?
2) Given the overall synergy between the principle of deterioration prevention and the nature directives (‘Habitats’ and ‘Birds’), do you consider this to be an appropriate solution to ensure the long-term environmental and socio-economic benefits of healthy ecosystems and the sustainability of the resources invested?
Miscellaneous items. The outgoing Czech Presidency and the European Commission will brief the ministers on the results of various international meetings, including COP27 on climate and COP15 on the post-2020 framework for global biodiversity.
The Czech Presidency will inform the ministers about the status of legislative proposals that still require technical work. They are: - the revision of the F-gas regulation (see EUROPE 12926/3) and the revision of the 2009 regulation on ozone-depleting substances, both proposed in April 2022 (see EUROPE 13060/9, 12926/3); - the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive (the so-called IED), which was discussed by ministers in October (see EUROPE 13049/3); - the tightening of the regulation on shipments of waste within the EU and to developing countries. This last proposal has been on the table since November 2021 (see EUROPE 12982/12). The European Parliament’s Environment Committee has just given its opinion (see EUROPE 13075/6).
“These are big packages. For months, the Council’s Working Party on the Environment met daily, with limited resources. Choices had to be made”, stressed a diplomatic source ahead of the session.
The Commission will present its recent proposals of 26 October from the zero pollution package, namely: - the revision of the Ambient Air Quality Directives to align EU standards more closely with WHO recommendations (see EUROPE 13051/1) and the revision of the Cleaner Water legislation, based on the modernisation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and the updating of the list of priority chemical substances to be monitored in surface water and groundwater (see EUROPE 13051/2).
It will also present its second ‘circular economy’ legislative package which includes: - the regulation proposed on 30 November to boost packaging reuse and waste prevention (see EUROPE 13074/7); - the regulation to establish a carbon removal certification scheme (see EUROPE 13074/9); - the policy framework for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics (see EUROPE 13074/8).
Sweden will present the programme for its six-monthly Presidency of the EU Council as of 1 January. In addition to climate (see EUROPE 13085/18), it will work on these legislative matters to make maximum progress, in particular the Waste Shipment Regulation. It wants the EU to be at the forefront of the circular economy and a non-toxic environment and also intends to follow up on the COP15 in Montreal and the rapid implementation of the global biodiversity framework.
The work programme of the incoming Swedish Presidency: https://aeur.eu/f/4ot (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)