§ Dr. Mawhinneyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement about the outcome of the Council of Environment Ministers' meeting on 28 November 1983.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI led the United Kingdom delegation at this meeting at which a wide range of environmental issues was discussed.
Considerable progress was made in discussion of the proposed directive on the environmental assessment of certain public and private projects. Agreement was reached on a group of provisions of importance to the United Kingdom, including an exemptions procedure and the form of a future developments clause. The Council was unable to reach agreement on the directive as a whole because of the general reservation from Denmark arising from a general review of Danish environmental policy and relating in particular to the assessment of projects specifically approved by national parliaments.
557WIntensive discussion of the proposed directive on combating air pollution from industrial plants failed to produce agreement on some important issues, in particular on proposals for Community-wide fixed emission limits.
Other issues discussed by the Council without reaching conclusion included the transfrontier shipment of hazardous wastes; mercury discharges to water by sectors other than the chlor-alkali electrolysis industry; and a proposed regulation on action by the Community relating to the environment.
A further meeting of the Council has been arranged for 16 December.