Brussels, 24/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Environment Bureau (EEB), an umbrella organisation for over 140 environmental NGOs, has appealed to the Barroso Commission to commit to reinforce and implement the Union's sustainable development strategy (SDS). The revision of this strategy, which was adopted in 2001, at the next Spring Summit, will provide the opportunity of so doing. This appeal was launched at the EEB's AGM in Brussels on 20 September, on "A New Sustainable Development Strategy for the EU".
"We expect the Commission to put sustainable development at the heart of its strategic objectives from day one, and to include the sustainable development strategy among these objectives, reinforced where it needs it", said John Hontelez, EEB Secretary General.
This is an essential stage for the Commission, which intends to guide the EU in the spirit of the new Constitution, "by being at the service of the citizens, with a responsible attitude to planet earth and its inhabitants, and a brave and creative vision of economic modernisation", said the EEB.
In the view of the environmental NGOs, it is particularly important for the implementation of the Lisbon strategy to be aligned on the sustainable development strategy, which must fulfil three requirements: 1) answering public concerns, to allow the Commission to fill in the rift separating European citizens; 2) promoting sustainability by developing innovation and knowledge: the EEB feels that in order to allow governments and industry in Europe to develop and apply the innovations needed for sustainable development on a large scale, the Commission has considerable efforts to make to give rise to solutions sensibly combining economic innovation, knowledge acquisition and social and environmental innovation; 3) ensure that the markets are genuinely at the service of sustainable development, by practising prices which are attractive to industry, consumers and local authorities, the application of more sustainable technologies, products and services.
Margot Wallström, the Commissioner for the Environment, thanked the NGOs for their constructive criticism as part of the public consultation on the revision of the sustainable development strategy, which was launched at the end of July and is due to finish on 31 October. In answer to the expectations expressed, she took pains to reassure the EEB of her whole-hearted support for sustainable development, which she commits to "defend at least as much, if not more so" when she becomes the vice-president with responsibility for communication within the Barroso Commission.
At the time of writing, the preparatory work for the revision, being carried out by the current Commission, has made good progress. The revision will focus on: -the sustainable development indicators drawn up by a working group from the European Statistical Office to allow progress to be quantified; -the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee which identifies the major hurdles to sustainable development in Europe and makes recommendations; -the results of the public consultation; -the forum of players in sustainable development, to be organised jointly by the Commission and the EESC on 11 and 12 November.
It will be the job of Stavros Dimas, who will take the Environment portfolio over from Margot Wallström, to present possible proposals for the report to be submitted to the Heads of State and Government in March 2005.
If the SDS has allowed the EU to make progress in the fight against climate change, rejigging the chemical products policy (proposed REACH regulation), proposals for the sustainable use of resources and commitments at international level, shortcomings remain as there are many trends which go against sustainable development and which are still observed in the fields of energy, transport, the environment, health and biodiversity, said Margot Wallström. Therefore, most of the objectives of the sustainable development strategy, as defined in 2001 are, in her view, still topical. "One might even consider that given the lack of progress in certain objectives such as the proportion of electricity produced from renewable energy sources, the European Union will be faced with an even greater challenge. The way we approach this revision will be used as a precedent for future revisions, but will also have a decisive influence on the EU's priorities during the term of the new Commission and beyond. We must guarantee that the revision is finished in time so the Spring Summit of 2005 can discuss both the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy and the new financial perspectives", concluded the Commissioner.