Brussels, 09/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) has just published a memorandum with ten tests for the Austrian Presidency to measure its progress on the environment at the end of its six months at the head of the Council. The object of this exercise, in place since 1998, is to encourage each successive Presidency to heed the environmental issues deemed priority by the NGOs federated to the EEB (see EUROPE 9103 for the Austrian Presidency's environmental programme). At the top of its priorities for the next six months, the EEB places the creation of an ambitious and effective EU sustainable development strategy (SDS). According to the EEB, such a strategy should be “robust”, with a comprehensive set of measures for the short term - including environmental fiscal reforms - and a concrete set of mandates and tasks for the Commission to ensure leadership and coordination. However, the Commission communication on the five-year review of the sustainable development strategy (see EUROPE 9090) is far from meeting the expectations of the EEB.
John Hontelez, head of the EEB, says that the draft strategy presented last month by the Commission has already failed the test thanks to its lack of vision, objectives and action designed to reverse the current trend towards unsustainable development. He is confident that the Austrian Presidency will bring about great improvements because its ambitious intention is to involve all Council formations in the process of adoption of the strategy at the June European Council.
The nine other tests are:
access to justice and information in environmental matters The EEB wants the restoration of the right to access to justice in the Regulation on the application of the Aarhus Convention by EU institutions and bodies, the opening of negotiations on access to justice at Member State level and acces for the public to data collected by Member States as part of the INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) Directive.
climate change The EEB wants consensus to be reached on a medium-term target of at least 30% reduction in domestic emissions by 2020, as compared with 1990 levels, guaranteed environmental integrity in the final Regulation on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases and the Directive on mobile air conditioning, the promotion of bio-energy and biofuels along with a reliable system to control the sustainability of this production (leading to support only for those forms of biomass used for energy that have a substantive positive environmental impact) and the rejection of nuclear energy as a solution to climate change.
clean air for Europe The EEB is counting on a revision of the air quality Directives without weakening existing limit values, having no time-derogations and relaxation for particles from natural sources and including the introduction of an ambitious and legally binding regime for the finest particles (PM2.5) and a Council common position on Euro V leading to a of 70% on NOx emissions from diesel cars.
from waste management to resource management The EEB is hoping for a reconfirmation and strengthening of the central role of the EU in waste policies with a clear focus on prevention, re-use and recycling. It also expects a Thematic Resources Strategy to include ambitious overall EU targets for resource productivity and eco-efficiency improvements, for specific reductions for 20 priority resources and sustainable harvesting criteria for biotic resources and for binding obligations, measures and implementation structures.
Alpine Convention The EEB wants the European Community to sign the Transport Protocol of the Alpine Convention, progress to be made on the ratification of the other Protocols signed by the Community and the continuation of the INTERREG “Alpine Space Programme”.
re-launch of an ambitious genetically modified organisms (GMO) policy The EEB is hoping that there will be work towards uniform and binding rules on coexistence of GMO, conventional and organic crops allowing Member States the right to set up GM-free zones at local and regional levels. It is also hoping for a review of the authorisation procedure for GMOs to increase credibility and, to this end, wants the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to apply the risk assessment as set out in Directive 2011/18/EC on deliberate spread of GMOs in the environment and to improve the comitology procedure through stakeholder involvement.
deliver effective biodiversity protection The EEB would welcome the ensured provision of 21 billion euro for Natura 2000 for the period 2007-2013 and the start of discussions on an EU initiative to better prevent forest fires in particular in the Mediterranean region.
protection of groundwater for future generations According to the EEB, the Austrian Presidency should prevent a roll-back from existing protection to maintain a clear and legally binding obligation to prevent input of hazardous substances, including pesticides and heavy metals, without exempting agriculture, reject all exemptions of applicability of the nitrate standard to agriculture and acknowledge the value of groundwater systems.
the soil The EEB expects the launch of Council discussion on the Commission's proposal for the Soil Thematic Strategy.