Brussels, 06/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's Committee on the Environment approved by a large majority the report by Riitta Myller (PES, Finland) on the Council's common position concerning the proposal of Directive aimed at fixing national emission ceilings for certain acidifying atmospheric pollutants. These are nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) and ammonia, precursors of tropospheric ozone.
The common position adopted by the Council on 7 November considerably tones down the Commission's proposal, that the EP had already largely amended at first reading. Also, with a view to second reading to be held during the March plenary session, the environment committee simply stuck to its position by restating the requirements set out during first reading. On 15 March 2000, the Parliament had above all requested that emissions that cause acidification and eutrophication and tropospheric ozone should remain below the critical levels and loads by 2020. The EP had also removed the exemptions the Commission was proposing for two sectors, maritime transport and air transport, and proposed bringing forward the date set for interim progress reports. The EP also called for review by 2004 of the ceilings, objectives and the measures to be taken.
Speaking before the committee, Ms Myller stressed the need to make the efforts required in order to reach the WHO standards on critical ozone loans and to reduce the number of areas not protected against acidification. "We should bear in mind that the target of the emission ceilings would save at least 4,000 lives a year (…) and that the costs (entailed by the fixing of such ceilings) would be much less than estimated if the Kyoto commitments are also taken into account", she said.