Brussels, 22/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has adopted a communication on sustainable development, detailing progress made by the EU in respecting the commitment it made at the Johannesburg Summit in contributing to the millennium objectives (eradication of poverty, bringing in sustainable production and consumption and protecting the natural resources which will form the basis for the economic and social development of future generations). One year on from Johannesburg, progress made in the strategy implemented by the EU inside and outside of its borders shows what the enlarged EU will have to consolidate. It contains information which may be useful to evaluate the environmental plank of the Lisbon strategy at the Spring Summit. Here is the main progress made on the three priorities of the strategy:
Internal strategy
Policy coherence: the proposed reform of common policies for agriculture and fisheries marks progress towards a more sustainable European model, turning its back on subsidies to production and the increase of capacity (to the detriment of ecosystems and biological safety limits). There are also plans to breathe new life into the inclusion of an environmental angle in sectorial policies (Cardiff process). Actions described in the Green Paper on the security of energy supply and in the White Paper on the transport policy by 2010 will contribute, as will the assessment of the impact on natural resources of regional and cohesion policy measures, and the promotion of corporate social responsibility. The impact assessment instrument for all future Commission proposals in place should make a significant contribution to the improvement of coherence.
Sustainable management of natural resources: the EU has set itself the target of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010; the revision of this policy for biodiversity has been started, and indicators are being developed; the Commission is working on thematic strategies for the protection of essential sources of biodiversity such as seas and soils. A new strategy was proposed in October 2003 to promote the sustainable use of resources.
Promotion of sustainable production and consumption: the reform of the chemicals policy should guarantee the sustainable management of these products, respecting health and the environment. The action plan on environmental technologies expected on 28 January will help to remove obstacles to the development and use of environmental technologies.
External strategy
Poverty reduction; in 2003, Austria and the UK joined the 8 Member States (Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, France) whose level of State aid to development was already at 0.33% of GDP (an interim objective to the end goal of 0.7%); the co-ordination of development policies in the EU and the Member States, the total untying of aid to development, the involvement in the IMF/World Bank initiative to reduce the debt of poor countries, increased commercial assistance are all on the EU's agenda.
Initiative for a world partnership for sustainable development: as well as the launch of EU initiatives for energy and water, and the proposed action plan to fight the illegal use of forests, the Commission suggested setting up a European fund of 1 billion EUR for water in the ACP countries. A formal proposal is expected in the next few weeks.
Sustainable trade and globalisation: the EU's intentions to re-start the Doha Development programme at the WTO, the commitment to include an environment/sustainable development element in regional and bilateral trade negotiations (ACP countries, Mercosur), the establishment of sustainable trade and innovation centres to help developing countries to benefit from the opportunities offered by the market, and impact assessment on trade agreements on "sustainability" should help the EU to reach its objective of making globalisation fairer and more sustainable for all socially and environmentally, whilst fulfilling the DCs' needs.
Global system of governance: the EU's support for multilateralism following the war in Iraq, in WTO negotiations and in efforts made by the Commission to reinforce partnership with the UN must continue.
The re-examination of the EU's sustainable development strategy, which was adopted in June 2001 at the Göteborg European Council, will be a job for the new Commission, at the start of its mandate.