§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 21 May 2002.Official Report, column 200W, if she will list the commitments that (a) the UK and (b) the European Union undertook and the timetable for meeting them. [62171]
§ Mr. MeacherNeither the UK nor the European Union undertook any commitments at the informal meeting of Environment Ministers on 24–26 May in Mallorca. The presidency produced their own conclusions from the discussions on soil protection, which are as follows.
The Commission adopted their communication "Towards a Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection" on 16 April 2002, and this formed the background to the discussion at Mallorca. Member states have been considering both the communication and the Mallorca discussion in the Council working group and are likely to adopt conclusions at the June Environment Council to steer the Commission's development of the strategy.