Brussels, 08/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The optimism prevailed on 7 March, following the meeting in Brussels of the EU Environment Ministers and their counterparts from the accession candidate countries. The latter seem in fact not only determined integrate as quickly as possible the Community acquis, but also to be fully associated with the implementation of the major policies of the moment, such as, to cite but a few examples, the 6th Community action programme in terms of the environment and the dossier on climate change, points that were on the agenda of this Thursday's Council. Moreover, in demonstrating their intention to take initiatives in certain specific fields before their accession, the candidate countries have shown that they no longer intend to be shunted into a passive role. Many elements have been very favourably welcomed by the Commission and Member States representatives.
This informal meeting, organised on the initiative of the Swedish EU Council Presidency, was centred on the proposal for a 6th action programme concerning the environment. The talks showed that the candidate countries support without ambiguity most of the priorities that are included, in particular biodiversity, the initiatives in terms of transport, climate change and agriculture, indicated Mr Kjell Larsson, the Swedish Environment Minister who chaired the EU Environment Council. Mr Larsson also underlined that the candidate countries spoke in favour of the setting out of targeted objective attached to deadline and welcomed their desire to the immediate fully fledged actors on the ground in terms of the protection of biodiversity. With regard to this, he recalled the great wealth of these countries in terms of fauna and flora, emphasising that this constitutes a precious asset for the present Member States where many species have disappeared.
Also recalling this asset, Jim Currie, Director General for Environment at the Commission, felt that the candidate countries must be immediately involved in the definition of a sustainable transport policy and in the drafting of the Community strategy for fight against climate change, including the defining of targets, the determining of means and the setting out of a timetable.
In the middle of this wonderful enthusiasm, the question of financing the "environment" section of enlargement seems to have been the only grey area. The representatives for the candidate countries showed a desire to have, in this area, the most suitable instruments and called for the adopting of ad hoc measures, letting it be inferred that the present forms of financing and their destination could damage their assets, the wealth of natural resources for one.
Finally, in perfect logic, Mr Larsson indicated that informal meetings of this kind where going to repeat themselves.