Brussels, 29/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - The proposal for a framework directive on soil protection is in deadlock and it is by stating this failure that the Czech Presidency handed over the flame to the Swedish Presidency, during the last Environment Council on Thursday 25 June in Luxembourg.
Although the Parliament's first reading dates back to November 2007, the Council has been unable to reach a political agreement on this text due to constant opposition from several delegations forming a blocking minority (Germany, Austria, France, Netherlands, UK). These countries, which already have a soil protection strategy, have again invoked the principle of subsidiary for justifying their refusal of a directive that they consider pointless and that they fear will entail administrative costs.
On the other hand, the southern delegations, which are calling for a legislative text at European level, deplored this failure and against stressed the need to have a Community instrument. The current president of the Council, Ladislav Miko, declared that, “we tried to reach an agreement right till the end. And even if some of the member states consider that soil protection is an essential element, not simply for soil in itself but also with regard to the climate and biodiversity, we didn't manage to agree”.
Stavros Dimas, the European Commissioner for the environment said that he was “very disappointed” that the Council had been unable to advance very far, given the, “soil degradation being a significant problem with repercussions for climate change”.
The draft directive aims to establish a common strategy based on the integration of concerns
linked to soil in other policies and the protection of soil functions, preventing threats by identifying zones requiring priority protection, setting up action programmes and identifying contaminated sites and
cleaning them up. (A.N./trans/rh)