Council Conclusions (provisional)

2355. Council - ENVIRONMENT (provisional version)

Press Release: Luxembourg (07-06-2001) - Press: 201 - Nr: 9116/01

9116/01 (Presse 201)

PROVISIONAL VERSION

CNE home page / Latest News / EU Council in Goteborg

PRESS RELEASE

Subject :

2355th Council meeting

- ENVIRONMENT -

Luxembourg, 7 June 2001

President :

Mr Kjell LARSSON, Minister for the Environment of Sweden

CONTENTS

PARTICIPANTS *

ITEM DEBATED

6^th ENVIRONMENT ACTION PROGRAMME *

PUBLIC ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION *

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT *

PRIORITY SUBSTANCES IN THE FIELD OF WATER POLICY *

EMISSIONS FROM MOTOR VEHICLES (COLD STARTS) *

CHEMICALS POLICY - Council Conclusions *

INTEGRATED PRODUCT POLICY - Council Conclusions *

WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (JOHANNESBURG 2002) -Council Conclusions *

COMMUNITY STRATEGY ON CLIMATE CHANGE - Council Conclusions *

INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS IN SECTORAL POLICIES AND COMMUNITY STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT *

MERCURY IN THE ENVIRONMENT - Council Conclusions *

COMMISSION INFORMATION *

PRESIDENCY REPORT *

OTHER BUSINESS *

- Visit to Russia of Commissioner WALLSTRÖM *

ITEMS APPROVED WITHOUT DEBATE *

ENVIRONMENT *

Environmental noise *

ENLARGEMENT *

CUSTOMS UNION *

Tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products *

_________________

For further information call 02 285 62 19 - 02 285 63 19

PARTICIPANTS

The Governments of the Member States and the European Commission were represented as follows:

Belgium :
Ms Magda AELVOET	Minister for Consumer Protection, Public Health and the Environment
Mr Olivier DELEUZE	State Secretary for Energy and Sustainable Development, attached to the Minister for Mobility and Transport

Ms Vera DUA	Flemish Minister for the Environment and Agriculture
Denmark :
Mr Svend AUKEN	Minister for the Environment and Energy
Germany :
Mr Jürgen TRITTIN	Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety
Greece :
Mr Ilias EFTHYMIOPOULOS	State Secretary for the Environment, Regional Planning and Public Works
Spain :
Mr Jaume MATAS i PALOU	Minister for the Environment
France :
Ms Dominique VOYNET	Minister for Regional Planning and the Environment
Ireland :
Mr James BRENNAN	Deputy Permanent Representative
Italy :
Mr Gianni Francesco MATTIOLI	Minister without portfolio, Minister for Community policies
Luxembourg :
Mr Eugène BERGER	State Secretary for the Environment
Netherlands :
Mr Jan PRONK	Minister for Housing, Planning and the Environment
Austria :
Mr Wilhelm MOLTERER	Federal Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, the Environment and Water Management
Portugal :
Mr José SÓCRATES	Minister for the Environment and Regional Planning
Mr Manuel DA SILVA PEREIRA	State Secretary for Regional Planning and Nature Conservation
Finland :
Ms Satu HASSI	Minister for the Environment
Sweden :
Mr Kjell LARSSON	Minister for the Environment
Ms Birgitta BOSTRÖM	State Secretary to the Minister for the Environment
United-Kingdom :
Mr Bill STOW	Deputy Permanent Representative
* * *
Commission :
Ms Margot WALLSTRÖM	Member

6^th ENVIRONMENT ACTION PROGRAMME

The Council, having been able to resolve all the outstanding issues, reached a unanimous agreement in view of a common position on the proposed Decision laying down the new Community Environment Action Programme (EAP) for the years 2001-2010. This will allow for an essential input to be made to the European Council in Göteborg on 15/16 June 2001 with the EAP setting out the environmental priorities for the Community Strategy on Sustainable Development which should be adopted in Göteborg.

The common position will be formally adopted at a forthcoming Council meeting following legal and linguistic finalisation of the text. It will then be forwarded to the European Parliament for its second reading in accordance with the co-decision procedure.

The final decision was taken on the basis of Presidency compromise proposals. The debate in the Council centered on the question of adding further quantitative targets and timetables to the priority areas for action. It addressed in particular the question of measures to take for the improvement of energy efficiency including financial, action on the issue of subsidies that counteract efficient and sustainable use of energy, climate, noise, chemicals, pesticides, as well as coherence with the Sustainable Development Strategy.

The proposed new Environment Action Programme addresses the key environmental objectives for the Community for the next ten years, building on the achievements of the 5th Action Programme (1992-1999). A mid-term review is foreseen after four years of operation.

The Programme aims at facilitating the integration of environmental requirements into other Community policies and at influencing the state and trends of the environment through changes in production and consumption patterns. New ways of involving stakeholders, empowering citizens and encouraging better land-use planning and management decisions are spelled out in a strategic approach where the correct implementation of existing legislation is also seen as particularly important.

The objective of the Programme is to ensure a high level of protection of the environment and to achieve a decoupling between environmental pressures and economic growth. It is based on the polluter pays principle, the precautionary principle and preventive action, as well as the principle of rectification of pollution at the source.

Four environmental priority areas for action are proposed, namely:

climate change,
nature and bio-diversity,
environment and health and quality of life,
natural resources and waste.

For each of these areas, the Programme defines general aims, specific objectives and lists the priority actions to be undertaken. Where appropriate, it establishes targets and timetables. It provides for appropriate initiatives to be taken in the different policy areas with the aim of meeting the objectives set out. These shall consist of a range of measures, including legislation, effective implementation and enforcement of Community legislation, voluntary agreements with industry, improved information and involvement of consumers, enterprises and public bodies. These initiatives shall be presented progressively and at the latest four years after the adoption of the Programme. The Programme also foresees the adoption of thematic strategies for priority environmental problems requiring a broader approach. The latter should be ready for implementation at the latest five years after the adoption of the Programme.

PUBLIC ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION

The Council, after having solved the remaining issues, reached a unanimous agreement on a common position concerning the proposed Directive on public access to environmental information. The draft Directive will be a major step towards openness of public administration. The public will enjoy extensive rights to require environmental information held by public authorities. The latter will be required to disseminate spontaneously and systematically major pieces of environmental information on public data carriers such as the Internet.

The Council instructed the Permanent Representatives Committee to establish the recitals and to submit the text to legal and linguistic revision. The draft Directive will subsequently be formally adopted, as a point without discussion, at a forthcoming Council meeting, and transmitted to the European Parliament for its second reading in accordance with the co-decision procedure.

The proposal will eventually replace Directive 90/313/EEC. It will also transpose the first pillar of the UN-ECE Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters, concluded in Aarhus on 25 June 1998. To this effect, the Council agreed on a statement underlining that Member States and the Community should be able to implement the first pillar of the Aarhus Convention before the end of 2002 and ensure that the relevant provisions are also applied by the Community Institutions. By June 2002, the Commission will present a report outlining the steps required to enable the Community to conclude the Convention.

Under the provisions of the draft Directive, public authorities are required to make available environmental information to any applicant on his request, without his having to state an interest. The information shall be made available as soon as possible and, at the latest, within one month after the receipt of the request. The time span can be extended to two months due to the volume or the complexity of the information requested. If a request is formulated too generally, the public authorities may ask the applicant to specify the request while assisting him in doing so. A fee, not exceeding a reasonable amount, may be charged for the supply of the information.

A request may be refused if it is manifestly unreasonable or formulated in too general a manner or if the request concerns material in the course of completion, internal communications or unfinished documents and data. Information can also be refused if disclosure would adversely affect the confidentiality of proceedings of public authorities, international relations, public security, national defence, the course of justice, confidentiality of commercial or industrial information, intellectual property or personal data. The grounds for refusal however shall be interpreted in a restrictive way. A refusal shall be notified to the applicant in writing, state the reasons and include information on the review procedure. The draft Directive provides for an administrative review procedure as well as for a review before a court of law or a similar body.

With a view to fostering the active and systematic dissemination to the public, public authorities are requested to organise the environmental information in such a way that it is readily reproducible and accessible by computer telecommunications or by electronic means.

Member States have to comply with the provisions of the Directive two years after its entry into force. Seven years after that date, Member States will report on the implementation with a view to a possible review.

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

The Council, by unanimity, reached a political agreement in view of the formal adoption of common positions at a later stage, following legal and linguistic finalisation, on the following two interrelated proposals:

- a Directive on treatment of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE Directive);

- a Directive on the limitation of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment

(RoHS Directive).

The agreement was reached on the basis of Presidency compromise package mainly tackling the question of the deadlines for the entry into force of the key provisions concerning the setting-up of the collection systems, the introduction of the collection and recovery targets as well as the start of the financing requirements laid on producers of such equipment.

The main objectives of the two proposed Directives are to protect the environment and human health from pollution caused by waste from electrical and electronic equipment, to prevent disposal of this kind of waste by landfill and to reduce the harmfulness of such waste.

The objectives of the two proposed Directives should be achieved by measures related to product design, separate collection, waste treatment and recovery (re-use, recycling), with producers taking responsibility at certain stages. It provides for private households to return their waste free of charge. By virtue of their financial responsibility, producers will be asked to adapt the design of their products to the requirements of healthy waste management, in particular by ensuring that dangerous substances are replaced.

WEEE Directive

The purpose of this Directive is, as a first priority, the prevention of waste from electrical and electronic equipment, and in addition, the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of such wastes in order to reduce the disposal of such waste. It also seeks to improve the environmental performance of the operators involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment, e.g. producers, distributors and consumers and in particular those operators directly involved in the treatment of this kind of waste.

This Directive will apply to electrical and electronic equipment falling under the categories set out in Annex IA, and which are as follows :

Large household appliances (refrigerators, washing machines, etc.),
Small household appliances (vacuum cleaners, toasters, clocks, etc.),
IT and telecommunication equipment (computers, printers, telephones, etc.),
Consumer equipment (TV, video recorders, Hi-fi recorders, etc.),
Lighting equipment
Electrical and electronic tools (sewing machines, etc.) (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools),
Toys, leisure and sports equipment,
Medical devices (with the exception of all implanted and infected products),
Monitoring and control instruments,
Automatic dispensers.

The Council agreed that collection systems are to be set up 30 months after the entry into force of the proposed Directive, allowing final holders and distributors to return the WEEE at least free of charge. When supplying a new product, distributors shall be responsible for ensuring that such waste can be returned to the distributor at least free of charge on a one to one basis as long as the equipment is of equivalent type and has fulfilled the same functions as the supplied equipment; distributors may do so by means of alternative arrangements. However, Member States may, for a period not exceeding 5 years after the entry into force of the Directive, set up or facilitate alternative free take-back systems. In both cases, it has to be ensured that returning WEEE is not rendered more difficult for the final holder. Member States may allow producers to set up and operate individual and/or collective take-back systems.

The Council furthermore agreed that the collection target for private households should be set to a minimum rate of four kilograms on average per inhabitant per year. This target is to be reached within 36 months from the entry into force of the Directive. The recovery/recycling targets vary according to the different categories and are to be reached within 46 months of the entry into force of the Directive. For category 1. items the rate of recovery shall be increased to 80 % the rate for re-use and recycling to 75 %. For category 3 and 4 the rate of recovery is 75 % and the rate for re-use and recycling 65 %. For categories 2, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 the rate of recovery shall be 70 % and the rate of re-use and recycling 50 %. For Greece and Ireland, due to their overall recycling infrastructure deficit, their geographical circumstances, their low population density and their low level of consumption of electrical and electronic equipment, an extension of up to 24 months on the deadlines for the collection and recovery targets is granted.

According to the provisions of the draft Directive, producers will pay for the collection, treatment, recovery, and environmentally sound disposal of WEEE from private households. The financing shall be provided by means of collective and/or individual systems. The responsibility for the financing of the costs of the management of WEEE from products put on the market before the entry into force of the Directive (so-called "historical waste") shall be provided by one or more systems to which all producers, existing on the market when the respective costs occur, contribute proportionately. The setting up of the financing systems should be reached within a 30 month deadline. An exemption from the financing requirements was granted to small independent manufacturers with fewer than 10 employees and a turnover of less than 2 MEUROS for a transitional period of 5 years after the entry into force of the Directive.

RoHS Directive

The purpose of this Directive is to approximate the laws of the Member States on the restrictions of the use of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, thus contributing to the protection of human health and the environmentally sound recovery and disposal of waste from electrical and electronic equipment.

By 1 January 2007 at the latest, Member States shall ensure that new electrical and electronic equipment put on the market does not contain lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and/or polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE).

Any amendments which are necessary in order to adapt the Annex concerning the exemptions from the Directive, to scientific and technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the comitology procedure.

PRIORITY SUBSTANCES IN THE FIELD OF WATER POLICY

In order to allow for speedy action on harmful substances in water, the Council accepted all the amendments voted by the European Parliament on 15 May 2001 with a view to adopting the Decision establishing the list of priority substances in the field of water policy provided for in the Water Framework Directive at first reading. Formal adoption of the text will take place at a later stage after legal and linguistic revision.

The aim of the Decision is to fill in Annex X of the Water Framework Directive which was agreed in 2000. It will establish a list of 33 substances or groups of substances, a number of which are identified as "priority hazardous substances" which shall be subject to cessation or phase out, as well as a number of "priority hazardous substances under review". The latter will possibly be identified as such when the global list is revised.

The adoption of the Decision will enable the Commission to start drafting proposals for measures to control the priority substances identified in the Decision, making thus Article 16 of the Water Framework Directive operational.

EMISSIONS FROM MOTOR VEHICLES (COLD STARTS)

With a view to adopting the draft Directive on measures to be taken against air pollution by emissions from motor vehicles at first reading, the Council accepted all the amendments adopted by the European Parliament on 15 May 2001. The United Kingdom indicated its intention to abstain.

The Directive will amend Directive 70/220/EEC in order to introduce higher emission limit values for certain light commercial vehicles and small vans. Formal approval will be given following legal and linguistic finalisation of the text.

High amounts of polluting exhaust gases are produced by motor vehicles during warming up. Existing legislation accordingly limits the tailpipe emissions from most types of vehicle during the warm-up phase. The Directive will introduce cold-start emission limits for certain types of vehicle hitherto not covered by the legislation, in particular:

new types of light commercial vehicles (category N1) of weight class II (greater than 1305 kg and up to and including 1760 kg) and weight class III (greater than 1760 kg);

new types of passenger cars (category M1) designed to carry more than six occupants and passenger cars with a maximum mass greater than 2500 kg.

CHEMICALS POLICY - Council Conclusions

The Council

RECALLS

1. the discussions about the need to reform the Community's chemicals policy that took place at the informal meetings of environment ministers in Chester on 24/25 April 1998 and in Weimar on 8/9 May 1999. The Council adopted a first set of conclusions on this matter on 21/22 December 1998. A second set of conclusions on a community policy for chemical products was adopted on 24/25 June 1999;

2. the Conclusions adopted by the Council (Internal Market) on 25 May 2000 on Better Regulation/Simplification of Legislation (SLIM), the conclusions adopted by the Industry Council on 14 November 1996 on an Industrial Competitiveness Policy for the European Chemical Industry, and the conclusions adopted by the Environment Council on 30 March 2000 on the Commission's communication on a Community strategy for endocrine disrupters;

3. the Council resolution of 4 December 2000 on the Precautionary Principle, which was endorsed by the European Council in Nice on 7-9 December 2000;

4. the resolution of 1 February 1993 of the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States on the European Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment ("the 5^th EAP") that set objectives i.a. to assess high production volume chemicals, develop risk reduction programmes for priority chemicals and achieve a reduction in vertebrate animal testing;

5. TAKES NOTE OF national strategies in the field of chemicals adopted in several Member States as well as the results of several inspection reports on the actual compliance with the regulations concerning classification and labelling in certain Member States;

6. WELCOMES the publication of the Commission's White Paper - Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy and considers it as an important first step in the development of the new Chemicals Policy;

7. RECALLS the discussions on the White Paper in the Environment Council on 8 March 2001, in the Internal Market, Tourism and Consumer Affairs Council on 12 March 2001 and the outcome of discussions in the Industry Council on 14-15 May 2001;

8. TAKES NOTE OF the discussion on the White Paper that took place at the Stakeholders meeting arranged by the Commission on 2 April 2001;

9. REAFFIRMS its commitment to the development of a new chemicals policy and a new Community system for the management of chemicals (substances and preparations) including how the issue of chemicals in products will be addressed in legislation.

10. ACKNOWLEDGES that the White Paper addresses many of the concerns identified earlier by the Council, but considers that further elaboration of the proposed mechanism is required in order to introduce workable and effective controls for chemicals.

RECOGNISES that

11. the new chemical policy must contribute to a sustainable development and ensure a high level of protection for human health, including workers' health, and the environment, while promoting innovation and the competitiveness of the European industry concerned. The policy must reflect the diverse and complex nature of the EU industry, including downstream users, and in particular the specific needs of SMEs including, if appropriate, the need for any support measures;

The policy should aim to achieve that, within one generation (2020), chemicals are only produced and used in ways that do not lead to a significant negative impact on human health and the environment, which is also in line with the water framework Directive and with commitments that Member States and the Community have undertaken in international fora;

13. the new chemicals policy will be an important part of the new action programme for the environment that is currently being considered by the European Parliament and the Council, especially in relation to the environment and health, and will also contribute to the European sustainable development strategy;

14. the precautionary principle must be a basis for the new chemical policy, in accordance with the Council Resolution mentioned above and the Commission Communication on the Precautionary Principle;

15. Chemicals that are dangerous should be substituted with safer chemicals or with safer alternative technologies not entailing the use of chemicals, with the aim of reducing risks to man and the environment;

16. innovation as regards the development of new chemicals and alternative technologies needs to be stimulated, in particular in order to ensure that safer alternatives to problematic existing chemicals will become available and to promote a sustainable chemicals industry;

17. the new chemicals policy must be developed at Community level in order to ensure the integrity of the internal market and must be consistent with WTO rules as well as with relevant multilateral environmental agreements;

18. the new chemicals policy must develop streamlined, pragmatic and effective procedures to overcome the present lack of knowledge about the properties, use and exposure of existing substances as well as the slow pace in the development of risk assessments and risk management measures. The requirements for registration of substances must be set reflecting what is realistically achievable in the Community while providing a high level of protection for human health and the environment;

19. there is a need to shift to industry, including downstream industrial users, the responsibility to generate knowledge about chemical substances and to assess and manage the risks arising from their use, enabling the authorities to focus on chemicals of highest priority;

20. a Community register for chemical substances needs to be established based on a tiered approach for data requirements. Substances that give rise to very high concern should only be used in justified and well-defined cases, and must be subject to authorisation, while other chemicals of concern must be subject to an effective decision procedure enabling rapid risk management measures to be taken whenever the need arises;

21. international co-operation on the management of chemicals has made substantial progress, i.a. through the signing of the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), the progress made on the Globally Harmonised Hazard Classification and labelling System (GHS) and the decision by the UNEP Governing Council to study the need for a strategic approach to international chemicals management. The new EU chemical policy will be an important input to this work and to the work in other fora, such as the OECD.

22. SUPPORTS the proposal in the White Paper to meet these challenges through the development of the REACH system for the management of chemicals (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals), where new and existing substances in principle will be subject to the same requirements, but stresses that the REACH approach needs to be developed to ensure the streamlined identification and risk management of chemicals of concern;

UNDERLINES that

23. animal testing should be limited to the level necessary to deliver the objectives of the strategy, including a high level of protection for human health and the environment. Industry should make all existing data available to avoid duplication of testing. Mechanisms are needed to ensure that unnecessary testing requirements are avoided. Adequate resources must be provided for research, development and validation of globally accepted test guidelines for alternative in vitro test methods, so that work can be accelerated at all levels. Activities under the new Framework Programme for Research should consider these requirements among its priorities. In addition to promoting this issue in ECVAM (European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods), the Community should play a more active role in the OECD, to encourage wider adoption of validated, alternative, non-animal testing methods;

24. additional research is needed in order to improve our knowledge about the impact of chemicals on human health and the environment, including the development of risk-assessment methods. It is essential that sufficient funding is made available for such research through public research programmes at Community level and at national level;

25. a general obligation should apply for industry to obtain enough knowledge and to take the measures needed to ensure the safety of chemicals (duty of care) irrespective of production volume and even if no specific data requirements have been established;

to verify compliance with the duty of care, industry should keep records of data, including information on properties, volumes and use, on all chemicals produced and used, including uses in products, and make any of these records available to the authorities if so requested;

27. industry should also ensure the quality of their risk assessments and risk reduction strategies e.g. through auditing/peer review or by other means;

28. in general, it must be ensured in the new system that a chemical cannot be marketed or used if the information required under the REACH system is not provided by the industry within the reasonable time periods to be set within the system;

29. the timetable for registration of information on substances is generally supported, provided that the system is flexible enough to allow for earlier registration and screening of substances of concern; the system needs to be complemented by prioritisation as regards the substances to be assessed and by additional time limits for the assessment and data evaluation and for the decisions on risk management measures, including authorisation in order to ensure cost-effectiveness and that the goal of a sustainable use of chemicals can be met;

30. as regards the use of chemicals in products, the approach set out in the Green Paper on an Integrated Product Policy (IPP) can make an important contribution that needs to be developed further in line with the Conclusions on the Green Paper adopted today by the Council;

31. all uses of concern of chemicals in products must be covered by the new system. The Commission therefore needs to undertake further study and present proposals by the end of 2001 with a view to covering products produced outside the Community in the same way as products produced within the Community;

32. Manufacturers and downstream users should develop an effective communication process within the product chain based on a shared commitment to the safe use of their products; information that is relevant for the safe use of chemicals as well as products must be made available to all users. Stakeholder access to the non-confidential information on the central system database is important but not sufficient. Further means to improve access to information should be worked out to enable consumers and professional users to make the best choice from an environmental and health point of view. Such measures could be based on a general duty for manufacturers, downstream users and distributors to provide comprehensive information on the content of chemicals in products and their hazards and risks in an accessible and understandable form and to label products appropriately, while taking intellectual property rights into account. Moreover, the link between data registration under the new system and the existing legislation pertaining to labelling and classification should be clarified;

33. responsibility for the administration of the REACH system has to be shared between public authorities in the Member States, the Commission and a central entity. The central entity should handle specific tasks, such as the administration of the central register and the preparation of decisions on the Community level, as well as supporting the public authorities in their evaluation of chemicals. The sharing of responsibilities between Member States needs to be clarified;

the Member States and the Commission need to commit themselves fully to an effective implementation of the new system by ensuring sufficient resources at all levels and through Community measures to facilitate the implementation by the Member States;

35 it is necessary to elaborate and implement all the relevant provisions of the new chemicals policy fully in line with the requirements laid down in the UN-ECE Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice.

CALLS UPON the Commission

36. to present by the end of 2001 its main proposals for a simple, clear and transparent regulatory framework to implement the strategy, including clarifying the responsibilities of producers and downstream users and procedures to establish risk reduction measures rapidly, in order to ensure that the timetables in the strategy can be met;

37. to set up a task force as soon as possible with representatives from Member States, working in consultation with industry, NGOs and other stakeholders concerned in the transitional period until the new legislation has come into force, to explore ways in which chemicals of concern can be identified to allow prioritisation for taking action, developing clear and transparent screening criteria, essential information requirements, and exploring the use of chemical grouping and modelling techniques. The availability of information to allow such prioritisation, such as data provided by industry on existing chemicals produced in high volumes (ICCA) should also be assessed. The first results of the work in the task force should be available by the end of 2002 to enable industry to commence data collection before the legislation comes into force, so that deadlines can be met.

INVITES the Commission, when drawing up its proposals, to

38. study more deeply the relation to legislation in other areas, as stated in the Council Conclusions of June 1999, and consider measures to avoid duplication of legislation work and to achieve coherence and the same level of protection in all fields of Community legislation such as occupational safety, major accident hazards, consumer protection, food packaging, water, waste, plant protection products, biocides, cosmetics, toys, etc;

39. study the case for introducing within the REACH system a simple register including substances produced in volumes below 1 tonne, with the aim of allowing, if possible, prioritisation of substances of concern;

40. study how to develop screening procedures to effectively identify chemicals with potentially harmful properties or uses of concern for the purposes of prioritising substances for which further information is urgently needed and those requiring accelerated risk management;

41 study how to develop criteria for classifying substances in categories of concern and explore the use of decision trees to apply consistent control measures, based on hazard criteria and use patterns, in line with a prudent and precautionary chemicals management;

42. study further the data requirements for substances produced in volumes below 10 tonnes in order to ensure that the information provided will be sufficient for classification and labelling and to assess the need for risk reduction measures. The data sets must also provide appropriate information for handling cases of unintentional releases and to enable the protection of the health and safety of workers whilst ensuring a minimum of animal testing;

43. develop procedures that can be used both by authorities and by the industry to simplify the identification of the relevant testing strategies and reduce the need for animal testing, including the use of decision trees and specific screening methods for all chemicals, such as validated computer modelling and the testing to identify chemicals that are persistent and bio-accumulating, taking into account the cost of testing requirements;

44. exploit, in order to limit the costs and efforts involved in the novel authorisation procedure, all realistic means of simplifying the procedure and of making use of available information; to this end authorisations that have an impact on the internal market should have general validity and be taken on Community level;

45. add PBT (Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic chemicals) and VPVB-substances (Very Persistent, Very Bioaccumulative chemicals) to the groups of substances of very high concern that will be subject to authorisation as soon as the necessary criteria for their identification are established;

46. envisage the addition of known endocrine disrupters to the authorisation system when agreed scientifically valid test methods and criteria are established, and study whether other substances with properties of concern, such as sensitisers and chronic toxic substances, need to be included in the authorisation system;

47. co-ordinate in co-operation with Member States the input into the international work on the Globally Harmonised Classification and Labelling System (GHS) and also analyse its implications for the Community legislation and consider, as appropriate, the need to submit proposals for its implementation;

48. further investigate how a central entity such as an expanded ECB (European Chemicals Bureau) or other body should best be organised and financed to avoid duplication of tasks as well as how fees, funds and other means of financing can support the resources of such an entity as well as the tasks carried out by Member States and to assess and minimise the overall costs for their public administrations, with the aim not to exceed, if possible, the costs implied by full implementation of the existing legislation;

49. develop mechanisms and define practical rules, to be operational when the system is implemented,through which the industry makes testing data and other information available in order to avoid duplication of tests and market distortions, while ensuring an equitable sharing of costs taking due account of the property rights of the party who generates the data;

50. investigate ways to ensure the effective implementation and study the adequacy of industry's data quality assurance system, and the enforcement of the new legislation, including provisions for a review of its implementation to allow for adjustments if the objectives are not being met.

INTEGRATED PRODUCT POLICY - Council Conclusions

The Council

RECALLS

The Informal Meeting of Environment Ministers in Weimar on 8-9 May 1999, where the ministers recognised the need to develop an integrated approach at Community level that deals with the entire life cycle of products.

WELCOMES

The Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy (IPP) presented by the Commission and considers it to be an important step in the development of an IPP at EU level.

RECOGNISES that

There is a need to address unsustainable trends such as depletion of natural resources and changes in the climate as well as diffuse emissions of hazardous chemicals and increased quantities of waste.

Some of the biggest challenges for sustainable development relate to production and consumption patterns and the environmental impact from the different stages of the life cycle of products. Traditional approaches of environmental policy are not sufficient to deal with these challenges as the products are becoming more complex and are made available through more complicated supply chains as a result of globalisation and of increasing trade and economic activities as well as rising consumption.

An Integrated Product Policy should be an overall policy that can help to fill the gaps in existing policies by using a life-cycle approach when addressing impacts on environment and health from products and services and can deliver results by engaging all stakeholders in the development of a coherent and effective range of responses and measures.

IPP will be an essential contribution to the EU strategy for sustainable development and to all the three dimensions – the environmental, social and economical – of sustainable development by:

stimulating a general greening of the market by improving the signals and incentives given to the market;

addressing unsustainable trends by applying a coherent set of instruments to address the environmental impact of products, throughout their entire lifecycle, including transport;

promoting innovation of environmentally sound products and stimulating markets for environmental technology and environmentally driven business development, contributing to a well functioning internal market and a strengthening of the international competitiveness of European industry;

raising the level of consumer protection by reducing the negative impact on health as well as improving environmental awareness among consumers and their ability to choose sustainable products based on reliable product information and to use products in an environmentally sound way;

providing a link between social, economical and environmental aspects of production and consumption patterns which are part of the IPP.

An IPP needs to be a long-term and dynamic policy that should be reflected in other policies. IPP should also supplement, support and strengthen other strategies by optimising their programmes, actions and implementation, with a view to achieving the objectives of EU environmental policy. An IPP can also be an important contribution to strategies that aim at the integration of environmental concerns into other sectors (the Cardiff-process).

STATES that

An IPP should aim for a continuous improvement of the environmental and health performance of products throughout the entire lifecycle. The long-term aim should be products that are highly efficient in terms of materials and energy and that do not contain nor require the use of substances that may give rise to adverse effects during the life cycle of these products on human health and the environment. As well as improving the performance of each product unit, IPP should aim for significant reductions in the total environmental burden generated by the quantity of products in circulation. To these ends, specific objectives for improvement, taking account of those set in the 6th Environmental Action Programme and its thematic strategies, as well as monitoring mechanisms, should be established as part of the IPP.

An IPP should embrace all environmental aspects, processes and stakeholders in order to avoid the transfer of environmental impacts and costs from one life-cycle phase or stakeholder to another and to stimulate preventive measures at an early stage of the product life cycle.

10 An IPP should promote the use of the price mechanism and efforts to include external cost in prices, in particular at the early stages of the product chain, in order to create effective economic incentives for all stakeholders.

11. An IPP should make use of an efficient and co-ordinated set of instruments and measures and ensure that these are improved and that new instruments are developed when necessary. The focus should be on market-based and voluntary instruments but the application of IPP should also ensure that, where regulation is required, it is designed to achieve optimal improvements in environmental effectiveness and in the market.

12. An IPP should create incentives to foster creativity and innovation for reaching environmental targets beyond the minimum secured by regulation and thereby bring about cost-effective environmental improvement.

INVITES the Commission to develop the general IPP approach set out in the Green Paper into a common vision, with specific and prioritised implementation measures, which clearly outlines the added value of the IPP approach.

WELCOMES the Commission's intention to work out in close co-operation with the stakeholders a Communication/White Paper on the IPP during the second half of 2001.

CALLS UPON the Commission to:

13. Develop clear objectives with timetables for the IPP – which may aim both at improvements in specific product groups initially as well as a more general greening of the market through horizontal instruments – in order to guide and motivate stakeholders and Member States. These objectives should be supplemented with methods and indicators for monitoring the achievements of the IPP. The monitoring mechanism should address both the resource efficiency of products themselves and the total environmental impacts arising in their production and consumption.

14. Develop a coherent mix of effective instruments that complement each other and are differentiated to take into account the different phases in the life cycle of products as well as the characteristics of different product groups and stakeholders.

Clarify how the IPP can contribute to the aims set out in

– the EU Strategy for sustainable development;

– the EU Strategies for the integration of environmental concerns into other sectors, such as the internal market and industry but also agriculture, transport, energy, trade, economy and finance, as well as consumer affairs;

– the 6th Environmental Action Programme, in particular as regards climate change, chemicals, waste prevention and the thematic strategies proposed on the sustainable use of resources and waste recycling;

– the strategy for a future chemicals policy.

16. Clarify the ownership of the IPP by suggesting roles and responsibilities at EU level, national level and local level and analyse these along the product chain, driving forces and the mechanisms that are needed to ensure that the stakeholders will be involved and motivated to take initiatives, as well as to build up their capacities. The analysis should include all relevant stakeholders, such as producers, importers, consumers, authorities, the service sector, retailers, wholesalers, waste management, trade-unions, the banking/financing sector, NGOs and media.

17. Present a coherent strategy to ensure that credible life cycle data and other reliable environmental information related to products are disseminated through the product chain, taking into account developments in information technology. This strategy could help to prevent misleading green claims. It should also cover improvements in labelling regimes and other relevant environmental product information to help the consumers (ISO Type I and II and other green claims), as well as in the elaboration of life cycle databases and other relevant business-to-business information (e.g. ISO Type III). It should also include guidelines describing the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders to produce and disseminate product related environmental information, taking into account the provisions of the Aarhus Convention.

18. Embrace both products and services within the IPP and, in particular, consider incentives so that the consumer's need for a specific function can be met by a more sustainable combination of products and services, in order to promote dematerialization, the efficient use of resources and to stimulate new business opportunities.

19. Consider how economic instruments can support the objective of the IPP and the implementation of the Polluter Pays Principle, taking into account the experience and the environmental consequences of fiscal and other economic instruments already in use in the Member States.

Consider in particular supportive instruments such as tailored guidelines, support for eco-design, environmental rating and eco-labeling, in order to take into account the specific needs of small and medium sized enterprises.

21. Consider the need for research, information, training and awareness raising for the purpose of sustainable consumption and production within the framework of the 6th Environmental Action Programme and the 6th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development.

22. Analyse the relationship to the WTO rules and the implication for the IPP of the internationalisation of supply chains.

INVITES the Commission to proceed in line with the proposed actions on the instruments presented in the Green Paper, taking account of the points above and also of the need to

23. Identify ways to reduce and/or eliminate subsidies that counter-act the purpose of the IPP.

24. Propose how green public procurement can be further strengthened as an effective tool to reduce the environmental impact of products and services and implement measures to facilitate and secure good practice in the Member States and within the Community institutions.

25. Analyse as appropriate and on an on-going basis if the existing product-related EU legislation supports the IPP approach and consider if there is need for new or revised legislative measures, taking into account the appropriateness to use New Approach legislation for environmental purposes and how this approach best could be applied.

26. Identify ways to make the development of standards more accessible to all stakeholders, including ways to facilitate the further involvement of authorities and NGOs.

27. Develop the IPP approach in relation to the objectives set for products in the new chemicals policy, in particular by ensuring that life cycle assessments take chemicals usage into account and by clarifying the responsibilities of down-stream users and role of the final consumer.

28. Develop the IPP approach in relation to the objectives of the EU Waste Management strategy, especially focusing on waste prevention measures.

29. Investigate how environmental management systems can be used by organisations and developed to include environmental accounting and the management of environmental impacts from products along their whole life cycle.

30. Analyse the effectiveness of voluntary agreements in use and the potential to develop such agreements as a tool within the IPP.

31. Study how the commercial benefits of IPP can be promoted to present a positive image of the IPP approach and highlight the possibilities for new markets and increased market shares for environmentally sound products and services.

CALLS UPON the Commission to

32. Develop how the experiences from the IPP process can best be shared and how advantage can be taken of good examples and the experiences from the use in Member States of various instruments.

33. Initiate as soon as possible appropriate pilot projects after having identified suitable product groups and suitable product related questions, taking into account experiences from the Member States and considering the need to develop life cycle assessments and other methodologies and the potential for establishing approaches which could be carried through into other sectors.

Involve on an ongoing basis the different stakeholders, including Member States, in the development, implementation and monitoring of the IPP.

WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (JOHANNESBURG 2002) -Council Conclusions

The Council,

Recalling its Conclusions of 18 December 2000 on International Environmental Governance;

Recalling its Conclusions of 8 March 2001 on the World Summit on Sustainable Development, where it agreed on a set of strategic objectives that will guide EU preparations for the Summit;

Welcoming the procedural conclusions of the Development Council of 31 May 2001 on the preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development;

Welcoming the constructive high level exchange of views at CSD 9 on a broad range of issues pertaining to the World Summit; welcoming the results of the first meeting of CSD 10 acting as the Preparatory Committee for the Summit; and looking forward to opportunities to enter into informal consultations with partners in other regions on themes for the Summit before the second meeting of CSD 10;

Welcoming the Communiqué of the Ministerial Council Meeting of OECD on 17 May 2001, and looking forward in particular to the OECD progress report on the use of sustainable development indicators;

The preparatory process

The Council reaffirms the commitment by Member States to the formulation of National Sustainable Development Strategies in time for the Summit, as well as their subsequent implementation and evaluation of these strategies. In addition, the European Council aims to adopt an EU Sustainable Development Strategy which will serve as an EU preparation for and follow-up of the World Summit and will constitute a central element in the implementation of Agenda 21 by the EU. The Council recalls the importance of the external dimension of the EU strategy, and welcomes the Commission's intention to present a Communication on this issue.

The Council is also committed to an active EU participation in the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) regional preparatory meeting to be held in Geneva 24-25 September 2001. The EU looks forward to the outcomes of the regional preparatory meetings that will take place at the other UN Regional Commissions during the autumn of 2001 and welcomes the preparedness of Member States and the Commission to provide financial support to these meetings on a bilateral basis.

The Council encourages the active participation of all relevant Council formations dealing with the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development in the further EU preparations for the Summit. The Council will pursue more integration of working methods and structures in order to improve the co-ordination and consistency of the work of the sectoral Councils.

Active participation of major groups in efforts for sustainable development is of high importance. In order to achieve a positive and forward-looking outcome at the Johannesburg Summit, as well as in the implementation of its results, partnerships between Governments, NGOs and the private sector at all levels are essential.

CSD 10, acting as the preparatory committee for the Summit, has a crucial role to play in carrying out the review and evaluation of the implementation of Agenda 21 and other outcomes of UNCED, as well as in preparing the forward-looking part of the Summit agenda. The Summit should contribute to establish a more integrated and co-ordinated follow-up process of the UN Conferences and Summits, including the implementation and follow-up of the Millennium Declaration. The preparations for the Summit will also reinforce the role of sustainable development as a unifying framework to co-ordinate progress in other relevant international conferences, conventions and processes ( 1).

Consideration of key themes and desired outcomes

The Summit should be aimed at concrete commitments and actions.

The Summit could reaffirm the International Development Targets and Millennium Declaration goals and take steps to ensure their integrated and coherent implementation, including the effective use of all sources of funding. Developed countries should show real commitment to changing their unsustainable production and consumption patterns. It is important to ensure that the agenda of the Summit deals with all aspects of sustainable development in a balanced way.

Poverty eradication and promotion of sustainable consumption and production patterns should be overriding objectives for the Summit ( 2). A gender perspective should permeate all its preparations. An integrated and focused approach to the implementation of Agenda 21 and other outcomes of UNCED should be agreed with the aim to operationalise sustainable development through concrete and practical measures. The idea of a "new global deal or pact" between North and South, involving all relevant stakeholders, could be further explored. Furthermore, the Summit should address new challenges and agree on specific initiatives in a few selected areas where the Summit can add value.

Four areas are of particular concern to the EU, as presented in the Commission Communication "Ten Years after Rio – Preparing for the World Summit on Sustainable Development". The following elements have been identified based on the Commission Communication and should be seen as a first preliminary contribution to the forthcoming dialogue with partners on possible main themes:

1. Protecting the natural resources base of economic and social development

The Summit should reaffirm and further elaborate the international development target to reverse the current trend in loss of environmental resources at global and national levels by 2015, with the view to protecting the natural resource base of economic and social development and the carrying capacity of the eco-systems. De-coupling of economic growth and environmental pressures is a key challenge. The EU will show leadership in this regard. Inter-mediate and sectoral, quantitative and qualitative, targets on environmental and resource productivity to increase eco-efficiency could also be agreed.

The security aspects of sustainable development and natural resources could be addressed, with a view to enhancing and strengthening preventive strategies.

The Summit could take specific initiatives on key issues that reflect the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development – especially fresh water, energy, land degradation and biodiversity.

2. Integrating environment and poverty eradication

The Summit should promote a better understanding of the linkages between environment and poverty, so as to ensure a strengthened integration between environmental protection and policies for poverty eradication and economic development. Improving health, securing sustainable livelihoods and reducing the vulnerability of the poorest communities and countries should be a central objective in this regard, in particular to achieve food security. A key concern is sustainable agriculture and the access to land and the natural resource base by the poor. Actions related to environment have the potential to protect the livelihoods of poor people, improve their health and make them less vulnerable. Furthermore, initiatives are needed to improve access to safe drinking water and sustainable energy, improve local air quality and also to reduce risks related to toxic substances, including measures with regard to safety and risk management, in order to contribute to the ability of millions of poor people to enjoy a healthy and productive life. In this respect due regard should be taken of the enormous social and economic consequences of the problem of HIV/Aids.

The Summit could reaffirm the international development targets and Millennium Declaration goals and take steps to ensure their integrated and coherent implementation. In this context, the further integration of environment concerns in international development co-operation is of particular importance.

The Summit could take specific initiatives in the areas of health and environment, sustainable rural and urban development as well as in relation to mechanisms for the integrated follow-up of the international development targets.

3. Making globalisation work for sustainable development

The EU recognises the opportunities and threats emanating from globalisation and aims to contribute towards equitable sharing of its benefits for sustainable development and towards avoiding marginalisation, exclusion, increased environmental degradation and loss of cultural diversity. In this context, the role of global and regional public goods could be explored.

It is essential to make markets work effectively for sustainable development. In this context the international trading system, including the WTO, has to play an effective role in contributing to sustainable development and to ensure that the WTO and multilateral environment agreements are mutually reinforcing. Further efforts are needed to eliminate environmentally damaging subsidies and promote market access for developing countries, especially for goods produced by small producers in the poorest countries. Increased use of sustainability impact assessments should be encouraged as a tool for maximising the benefits and minimising the potential negative impacts of trade and investment on sustainable development.

The private sector plays a key role and should be part of the efforts to achieve sustainable development, also through foreign direct investment. Commitments by the business community to corporate responsibility, environmental accountability and exchange of best practices and technology transfer could be parts of "a global pact", which would include public-private partnerships as well as an increased North-South co-operation. There is also a need to bridge the digital divide, where industry could play a leading role. Furthermore, the Summit could reflect on the application of the precautionary principle with respect to new technologies such as biotechnology. The EU welcomes an early dialogue with partners in the private sector to explore mechanisms for joint commitments to be taken by Governments and the private sector at the Summit, in order to promote sustainable development and give concrete meaning to an ethics of global responsibility. In this regard, the Secretary General's Global Compact Initiative should be reflected.

4. Enhancing good governance and participation

The Council emphasises the mutually reinforcing character of good governance at the local, national, regional and international levels. At the national level, sustainable development strategies will, among others, be a key mechanism by improving complementarity and consistency as well as filling gaps between existing strategies and programmes in a participatory manner. In this context, structures for regional level implementation of Summit commitments should be strengthened. At the international level, an effective follow-up of the Summit is essential. The summit should therefore address ways of strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development and evaluate and define the role and work programme of the CSD, in particular as regards outputs and participation.

The Council believes that the Summit could:

Provide guidance and support for further implementation of national sustainable development Strategies by 2005, and take specific initiatives for capacity building and mechanisms for regular follow-ups;

Promote initiatives to establish and improve access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making, and access to judicial and administrative proceedings in environmental matters;

Promote a more effective role for an independent, objective media in support of sustainable development;

Recommend specific initiatives to strengthen global governance on sustainable development;

Promote sustainable development as a key objective of the UN and other international organisations and to organise institutional structures accordingly to ensure the formulation of policy in an integrated way;

Recommend specific measures to ensure an effective follow-up of the Summit.

International environmental governance to support sustainable development

The Council recalls the Nice European Council conclusions of december 2000 inviting the Council to submit detailed proposals for its meeting in Göteborg in June 2001, in view of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.

The Council attaches high importance to the continued work of the UNEP Open-Ended Intergovernmental Group of Ministers or their Representatives on International Environmental Governance; and commends the UNEP Executive Director for his recent report, which contains options that are presently under consideration by all parties.

In this context, further to the Council Conclusions of 18 December 2000 on International Environmental Governance, the Council presents initial proposals below. It also decides to develop a more substantive EU position in light of ongoing multilateral processes, and to submit detailed conclusions to the Laeken European Council.

The Council considers that the preparatory process and the WSSD should address ways of strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development. In the field of environment tangible steps should be taken by the Summit to ensure:

A more coherent and integrated international institutional environmental architecture where all countries can participate on an equal basis and that has the capacity, authority and credibility to effectively address wide-ranging environmental threats in a globalising world, through measures such as:

providing increased political impulse and direction to international environmental governance;

strengthening of international environmental governance based on existing structures, in particular UNEP, aiming to gradually adapt them to the new requirements which could ultimately lead to a World Environment Organisation, respecting existing headquarters; and which should also try to respond to current challenges, particularly as regards the implementation of environmental agreements;

creating a reinforced co-ordination between UNEP and the MEAs secretariats inter alia through strengthened coherence of programmes, schedules, actions and strategies;

improving management of environmental issues for example by a programme of work to closer relate the activities and, if possible, the means of the MEAs secretariats working on neighbouring topics.

A strengthened and broadened financial basis for the international environmental architecture, including UNEP and GEF, through measures such as:

promoting stable, predictable and adequate funding, based on fair burden-sharing, as a prerequisite for improved governance;

increasing efforts to integrate environmental concerns in international financial institutions as well as in all development co-operation.

ensuring adequate financial resources for addressing a broad range of global environmental issues through a substantial replenishment of the GEF, taking into account the role of the GEF as the principal financial mechanism for the global environment.

Reforms of international environmental governance structures which will have effective impacts on national and regional implementation, through measures such as:

enhancing capacity building and technology transfer;

strengthening and streamlining capacity for data collection, assessment and monitoring.

Strengthened means of implementation

The Council underlines that ownership by all partners is an indispensable prerequisite in this process, including in the implementation and follow-up to the Summit. A guiding principle for preparing the Summit agenda should be to ensure an integrated and operational approach where all aspects of sustainable development would be reflected in new initiatives and in the overall outcome of the Summit. The Council strongly believes that it is essential that the outcome of the Summit be action oriented with clearly identified measures for implementation and follow-up.

Furthermore, the Council sees strong links between Summit preparations and the Financing for Development process. It also recalls the commitments made in Rio by all countries to implement Agenda 21, including through the provision of new and additional resources to support developing countries. All developed countries should reach, as soon as possible, the agreed UN target for ODA of 0,7% of GNP, to which the EU and its Member States are committed. The Council aims to explore opportunities, before the Summit, to achieve concrete progress in this area.

The EU believes the Summit should promote ways to:

Increase the mobilisation of domestic resources for sustainable development and strengthened capacity building;

Improve the level, quality and content of official development assistance;

Increase the mobilisation of private financial flows for sustainable development, including FDI, as well as the transfer of environmentally sound technologies, and explore innovative new sources of financing.

COMMUNITY STRATEGY ON CLIMATE CHANGE - Council Conclusions

In view of further international meetings on climate change and in particular the resumed Sixth Conference of the Parties (CoP 6) to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that will take place in Bonn from 16 to 27 July 2001, the Council adopted the conclusions, reproduced underneath, that set out the general EU position in the ongoing negotiations. The Council also held informal talks on the approach to adopt on the way towards Bonn.

"1. Climate change affects us all; it is one of the major challenges for the century and it is expected to affect our societies and economies broadly. Action is therefore necessary at the global level and can only be fully effective through a major effort of international co-operation as laid out in the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. Industrialised countries have to take the lead. Action to combat this major threat to our well-being and that of future generations is therefore an essential element in the effort to achieve sustainable development in the run-up to the Johannesburg summit in 2002.

2. The Council reaffirms its support for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), appreciates the important work by the IPCC on its Third Assessment Report and encourages the IPCC to continue its scientific assessments in the future. The important findings of the IPCC underlines the EU concern that there is now stronger evidence that human actions are changing the world's climate; that the recent climate changes are already having an impact on physical and biological systems; that without actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures could rise between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees C over the next 100 years; and that future climate change could have significant adverse effects on the natural world and human society. The Council, however, also notes that IPCC recognises that there is considerable potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the worst effects of climate change, and actions will be required to realise this potential. Finally, the Council notes that according to the IPCC, the overall cost of meeting the Kyoto targets will be relatively small.

3. The European Union is ready to negotiate in a constructive spirit with all partners on all the outstanding issues in Bonn. While we are prepared for compromises, we consider it essential to underline the importance of the fundamental elements of the FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, including the legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments, in order to ensure a long-term sustainable global climate policy. The Council reiterates that any agreement must safeguard the environmental integrity, must lead to real reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and be supported by a credible compliance and liability system.

4. The Council recalls that the Kyoto Protocol and the Kyoto Process represent the result of a ten-year international effort to lay the foundations for an international regime to combat climate change which already provides sufficient flexibility to accommodate different national situations. Any effort to replace the Kyoto Protocol would cause serious delay in undertaking necessary action. Therefore, the European Union continues to regret the position taken by the United States and expresses the hope that the results of the policy review in Washington will enable the USA to participate constructively in the preparations and work of the resumed Sixth Conference of the Parties (COP 6) in Bonn, as agreed at the OECD-Ministerial council meeting in Paris on 17 May 2001, and to reach a common solution. In this context, the Council underlines the need for a timely and efficient preparation of the resumed COP6 in July in Bonn

5. For the European Union, there is no doubt that climate change is a major threat to sustainable development of all countries and to efforts to alleviate poverty in developing countries. The EU also acknowledges that a major challenge at the present time is to promote synergies between action on climate change and action to promote development. The European Union will seek further consultations with G77- partners to work together on central issues such as technology transfer, capacity building and action on adaptation. The challenges go beyond the mere transfers of resources; the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol provides for a genuine partnership to address Climate Change in the framework of sustainable development.

6. In this context, the Council particularly welcomes the ACP-EC Declaration on Climate change, adopted by the ACP-EU Council of ministers on 11 May 2001, which acknowledges that the EU and ACP countries have a shared interest in the on-going climate negotiations, reaffirms their strong commitment to the Kyoto Protocol and recognises that the early implementation of the Kyoto Protocol will contribute to achieving sustainable and equitable development and poverty reduction and eradication through an integrated approach,

7. The Council reaffirms its commitment to close co-operation with countries with economies in transition, both in reaching agreed solutions in Bonn and in the continuation of the Kyoto Process. Noting that many of these are accession candidate countries and thus have to address the challenge of adapting their economies and legal frameworks to Community rules and environmental standards, we aim at reaching common positions with them in the COP 6 process.

8. The European Union recognises that the effort to combat climate change sometimes requires difficult decisions from a political and economic point of view. Nevertheless, in the EU we have shown that we are prepared to take the necessary action. There is also scope for low-cost and win-win action in all economies, which can bring lower fuel bills, cleaner air and less congestion. Moreover, economic and political consequences may well be worse if action is delayed. There are also business opportunities in terms of the further development of new, low greenhouse gas emitting technologies, market approaches and other innovative solutions to address climate change. The EU believes that it is necessary to take an active and forward-looking role and sees innovation, not least in energy- and transport systems, as the key to the future.

9. The European Union maintains the target of ratification and entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol by 2002, striving for the broadest possible participation of Annex I-countries, and to that end the European Community and its Member States have started their internal preparations. The Council urges the Commission and the Member States to further intensify their preparations, to enable rapid action after the resumed COP 6. The European Union calls on all partners in the negotiations to join it in reaching satisfactory solutions on outstanding issues.

The Council considers the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to be an important first step in the process of combating climate change. A further step will be an early start to negotiations on the second commitment period.

10. The Council notes that data recently published by the European Environment Agency show that EU emissions of greenhouse gases were 4% lower in 1999 than in 1990 according to the latest emissions figures. Emission forecasts demonstrate that further measures will be needed to reach these Kyoto commitments. The Council emphasises that the European Community and its Member States are firmly determined to meet their commitments. In this context, the Council underlines the need for policies and measures on the level of the Member states as well as the importance of the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP). It notes the report on the ECCP presented by the Commission, and welcomes the decision to hold a major conference on this subject in Brussels in early July. The Council invites the Commission to come forward as soon as possible with concrete proposals for common and co-ordinated policies and measures, inter alia on the basis of the ECCP and in relevant sectoral policies.

11. Climate change needs to be tackled through a wide range of actions. This will be addressed at the European Council in Göteborg as a central part of the strategy on sustainable development. The summit will also offer an opportunity for high-level discussions on climate change between the USA and the European Union. The European Council is expected to give guidance to the Council in its relevant formations to enable it to play a still more active role in the joint action on climate change."

The Council also took note of an information by Commissioner WALLSTRÖM on the state of work concerning the proposal for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the Community and the proposal for a European Climate Change Programme.

The Commission is in the process of preparing the necessary instruments for ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the Community. The Commissioner indicated that the Commission would be ready for adopting the text after the summer.

Commissioner WALLSTRÖM also presented a report on the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP), launched one year ago, and which has already produced promising results. A big conference will be held on 2 July 2001. The Commission intends to come forward with a communication in autumn. Individual proposals will follow.

INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS IN SECTORAL POLICIES AND COMMUNITY STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Over lunch, the Council heard a presentation by the Presidency of its synthesis report on the strategy of integration of environmental requirements into EU sectoral policies (so-called Cardiff process). The paper reports on the progress and achievements reached so far. It also gives some recommendations for future actions. Together with the nine sectoral strategies, it will provide an important input for the discussions at the European Council in Göteborg on 15 and 16 June 2001.

The status of the different sectoral strategies is as follows :

The integration of environmental concerns into sectoral policies derives from the conclusions of the Cardiff European Council, in which all relevant formations of the Council were invited to establish their own strategies for giving effect to environmental integration and sustainable development within their respective policy areas. Several Council formations reported about their progress to the Helsinki European Council. The Helsinki conclusions stated that the Council's work on the integration strategy should be concluded at the Göteborg European Council. The latter will make a general overview and provide guidelines for future work.

Sector	Before 2001	Spring 2001
Transport	Strategy October 1999	Council resolution 4-5 April
Energy	Strategy December 1999	Council resolution 14-15 May
Agriculture	Strategy November 1999	Council conclusions 24 April
Enterprise	Report November 1999	Council conclusions 14-15 May
Internal market	Report December 1999	Adoption of strategy 31 May
Development co-operation	-	Adoption of strategy 30 May
Fisheries	-	Council conclusions 25 April
ECOFIN	Report December 2000	-
General Affairs	-	Council conclusions 9 April

The integration strategy will now find a wider dimension in the framework of the Strategy for Sustainable Development which should be adopted by the Heads of State and Government at the European Council in Göteborg on 15 and 16 June 2001, and which aims at conciliating environment, economic and social policies.

Over lunch, the Council was also informed by the Presidency on the preparations concerning the Community Strategy for Sustainable Development. Three Council formations (Environment, Ecofin, Employment and Social Policy) will be involved in the preparation of the Göteborg summit. The result of the discussion in the three Councils will be reported by the respective Presidents to the President of the European Council in view of the preparation of the European Council conclusions.

The intention of the Presidency is to add in Göteborg the environmental pillar to the Lisbon process on social and economic reform. The Community strategy on sustainable development would then be reviewed each year at the annual Spring European Council on the basis of the synthesis report from the Commission.

MERCURY IN THE ENVIRONMENT - Council Conclusions

The Council adopted the following conclusions:

"The Council calls upon the Commission to clarify the legal situation regarding the conversion of the chlor-alkali industry, identify the possible consequences, for all parties concerned, for the use of mercury and report to Council, preferably by the end of 2001 on the potential need for coordinated action in the EU and the accession countries."

COMMISSION INFORMATION

Under this heading, the Council took note of a report by Commissioner WALLSTRÖM on the state of play of the following files:

the Communication from 7 May 2001 on the CAFE (Clean Air for Europe) programme;

the up-coming regulation on traceability and labelling of GMOs;

the envisaged Directive on batteries and accumulators;

the amendment to a Decision on the support of European NGOs;

the amendment to Directive 98/70 on fuel quality.

The information by Commissioner WALLSTRÖM on the Regulation on traceability and labelling of GMO's was followed by a brief exchange of views in Council.

PRESIDENCY REPORT

The Council also took note of a Presidency report on the state of play of dossiers, which the Presidency considered important but on which it was not possible to make sufficient progress because of lack of time. The dossiers concerned are:

the proposed Directive providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment;

the proposed modification of a Directive as far as noise and exhaust emissions from recreational craft are concerned;

the proposed modification of a Directive as far as the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from internal combustion engines for non-road mobile machinery are concerned;

the proposed Recommendation on the implementation of integrated coastal zone management in Europe.

OTHER BUSINESS

Visit to Russia of Commissioner WALLSTRÖM

The Council took stock of a note provided by Commissioner WALLSTRÖM on her recent visit to Russia.

ITEMS APPROVED WITHOUT DEBATE

ENVIRONMENT

Environmental noise

Following political agreement reached at the Environment Council of 18 and 19 December 2000, the Council formally adopted its common position on the draft Directive concerning the assessment and management of environmental noise.

The common position will now be transmitted to the European Parliament for its second reading in accordance with the co-decision procedure. (For the details of the content of the draft Directive, refer to Press Release nº 14668/00 - Presse 486).

ENLARGEMENT

The Council adopted a number of EU common positions with a view to the Accession Conferences with Cyprus, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovenia at Ministerial level on 11/12 June 2001.

CUSTOMS UNION

Tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products

The Council adopted a Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 2505/96 opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products.

This Regulation is designed to ensure that the demands for raw materials and components of the Community processing and converting industries are met under favourable conditions.

________________________

Footnotes:

( 1) In particular the Financing for Development process, the third Global Environmental Facility (GEF) replenishment, the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Conference, Habitat II+5, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD), the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

( 2) Poverty/sustainable production and consumption patterns are overriding issues in the Programme of Work of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development

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