§ 36. Mr. Ashbyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was achieved at the latest meeting of European Community Environment Ministers.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI led the United Kingdom delegation at the meeting on 16 December which continued discussion of business not completed by the Council on 28 November.—[Vol. 49, c. 564–65.]
The Council agreed to a directive on the control of mercury discharges to water by sectors other than the chlor-alkali electrolysis industry, on a basis acceptable to the United Kingdom.
No agreement was reached on the draft regulation on the supervision and control of transfrontier shipment of hazardous waste. For the United Kingdom I strongly urged that agreement should be reached on the basic information and documentary control system, but the Commission was not prepared to consider any simplified proposal. The Federal Republic of Germany also insisted on the need for more stringent national measures to apply to transfrontier shipment of hazardous waste, to which a majority of member states, and the Commission, were opposed. The proposal was accordingly remitted for further study.
A long debate on the proposed directive on combating air pollution from industrial plants revealed no basis of agreement on the key principle of provision for Community-wide fixed emission limits. This proposal was also remitted for further examination.
The proposed regulation on action by the Community relating to the environment was also discussed without agreement being reached.