While Member States support the objective of revising two EU directives on ambient air quality to bring EU standards more into line with WHO recommendations, the European Commission's legislative proposal, presented in October 2022 (see EUROPE 13051/1), still poses difficulties for many delegations, who are calling for realism.
The ministerial policy debate at the Environment Council on 20 June in Luxembourg gave the outgoing Swedish Presidency the opportunity to take stock of the situation and pass the torch to the Spanish Presidency in the hope of facilitating the continuation of the work, beyond an initial partial Swedish compromise proposal (see EUROPE 13198/11).
Stressing the importance of protecting human health and ecosystems, Sweden's Minister for the Climate and the Environment, Romina Pourmokhtari, thanked the ministers “for their broad support for the review” and summed up the debate as follows:
- Some countries are concerned about stricter standards and a tight timetable for achieving the 2030 targets, while other delegations feel that the Commission's proposal strikes the right balance between quality and feasibility;
- Several delegations have expressed reservations about the level of ambition for air quality;
- Several States are concerned about the cost of enhanced air quality surveillance and would like to see a more flexible approach;
- Some people are questioning the additional bureaucratic burden associated with new provisions on air quality plans;
- Several delegations stressed the need for greater consistency with other relevant social legislation. Hence their suggestion to add a joint responsibility clause to ensure that appropriate action is taken at the relevant EU and Member State levels.
- In addition, some countries have questions about: - the compatibility between the provisions on compensation to citizens for damage to health and their domestic legal order; - transboundary aspects of pollution; - new provisions on access to justice; - delegated acts.
The European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, told the concerned ministers that the expected benefits would outweigh the costs, and that €17.4 billion per year of the EU budget could be used for cleaner energy and transport, 3 times more than in the previous budget.
He called on the Member States not to lower the level of ambition, hoping for a political agreement from the Council in early autumn to launch negotiations with the Parliament before the end of the year, under the Spanish Presidency, so that the dossier could be completed before the European elections. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)