Brussels, 18/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - In anticipation of the Copenhagen European Summit, the new Competitiveness Council adopted on 14 November the report on the follow-up to be given to the Gothenburg European Council and the Johannesburg European Summit conclusions on sustainable development. The report assesses progress achieved in the strategy established in May 2001 to integrate the environment and sustainable development into the Internal Market. The changes needed to respond fully to the objectives of the EU internal strategy for sustainable development in the areas of competence of this new Council composition, and to take into account, in the external strategy for sustainable development, the ten-year plan on production means and sustainable consumption, adopted in September by the international community, will begin under the Greek Presidency and continue under the Italian Presidency. The adjustments will be based on the June 2002 Council Conclusions on the contribution of enterprise policy to sustainable development, and on a contribution from the European Commission.
The report assesses the situation as follows.
Progress has been achieved in the implementation of Community legislation: the Member States cut down the deficit in the transposition of environmental directives from 7.1% in May to 4.6% today, but a great deal still remains to be done to improve the situation.
The Commission's introduction of an instrument to evaluate the impact of its new proposals on all aspects of sustainable development will serve the objective of an appropriate and effective regulatory framework.
There are no signs that more intense pursuit of environmental objectives has prevented the Internal Market from functioning properly.
The number of proposals for national technical standards and regulations, notified by the Member States under Directive 98/34/EC introducing an information procedure between Member States and the Commission, has risen significantly, but the number of environmental measures notified has remained relatively stable.
A positive evolution is being seen in the area of standardisation: the Commission is currently preparing a document on the integration of environmental aspects into standardisation, a text expected to be adopted before mid-2003. In addition, the creation of ECOS, a consortium of environmental organisations that will become an associate member of European standardisation bodies and will begin its work at the end of the year; is expected to facilitate the defence of environmental points of view in the standardisation process. CEN (European Standardisation Committee) is working actively on increasing the number of standards proposals, taking environmental aspects into account, and is stepping up its pace of work to cut down by half the time needed to develop a European standard (3 years instead of 6). The Commission is considering requesting of CEN standards on the impact of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment, and is expected to present before the end of 2002 a communication on the improvement of "new approach" directives.
The system for the award of the Community ecological label is becoming stronger, in terms of the number of companies using it (a 60% increase from 2000 to 2001), the categories of items to be labelled, and the items awarded the label (up 300% from 2000 to 2001).
Concerning the integrated product policy (recognised in the internal strategy for sustainable development as a means of linking political objectives, environmental protection instruments and the Internal Market), the Council invites the Commission to present its communication or White Paper as early as possible in 2003, taking into account the aspects that affect competitiveness. It also invites the Commission to present its proposals for directives on the integration of environmental aspects into the design of energy-using consumer equipment.
Environmental state aid granted in the Member States, in accordance with the framework established by the Commission, rose overall between 1998 and 2000, accounting for 5% of total aid in the EU, or 0.05% of GDP.
With regard to giving weight to environmental aspects in public procurement, a practical guide and a database are being developed. The Council notes that the calls for tenders published in the Official Journal (which act as an indicator of progress) do not provide full and reliable information on environmental considerations. Several studies launched by the Commission are expected to remedy this shortcoming in 2003.
The report will be forwarded to the General Affairs and External Relations Council before being submitted to the Heads of State or Government.