Brussels, 19/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Council on 18 December, EU environment ministers adopted conclusions on the loss of biodiversity, sending a clear signal to the Commission and Member States, urging them to renew their efforts to achieve the target set in 2001 by the Gothenburg European Council on ending depletion of biodiversity within the EU by 2010. This target was restated in the Lisbon Strategy, when it was relaunched in March 2005, and also in the new EU sustainable development strategy of June 2006. The Conclusions adopted on Monday endorse what the Commission said in a communication presented on 31 May 2006: that there has been little progress in reaching the Gothenburg objective. Ministers, therefore, called on the Commission and Member States to take all necessary measures to remedy the situation at EU level and at world level by incorporating biodiversity into all the EU's external policies. The conclusions stressed too the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to lessen as much as possible the effects climate change on biodiversity, and also the need to improve our knowledge of biodiversity. The full text of the Councils conclusions can be viewed at: http: //http://www.eu2006.fi/news_and_documents/conclusions/vko51/fr_FR/1166458516273/ #fr (ol)