§ Mr. Merchantasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement about the outcome of the Council of Environment Ministers' meeting on 1 March.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI led the United Kingdom delegation at this meeting, at which the main items discussed were a proposed directive on the combating of air pollution from industrial plants; a proposed regulation on action by the Community relating to the environment—ACE; and a proposed regulation on the supervision and control of transfrontier shipment of hazardous wastes.
524WThe air pollution directive was agreed, subject to a parliamentary reserve by the United Kingdom. On the main issue, it was agreed that there should be provision for Communitywide emission limits based on the best available technology not involving excessive costs and taking account of the nature and qualities of the emissions concerned. It was understood that such limits would be proposed only if Community action was considered to be necessary on the basis of the scientific evidence. This directive will provide a consistent framework for future proposals on control of emissions from specific industries which will take full account of the need to balance economic, technical and environmental factors.
The ACE regulation was agreed with a total funding of 13 million ECU—approximately £7.5 million—for a period of three years. The types of project that will be eligible for Community support are: clean technologies used in certain industrial processes; new techniques and methods for measuring environmental quality; and habitats of endangered species within the terms of the Community's 1979 directive on the conservation of wild birds.
The Council also made useful progress on the proposal on transfrontier shipment of hazardous waste. Athough the United Kingdom was able to agree to a compromise text dealing with the responsibility of the producer, the Council was finally unable to agree to German and Danish demands for stricter national and local controls on hazardous waste shipments in their territories. and the draft directive was referred to the Committee of Permanent Representatives for further consideration.
The Council formally adopted the directive on discharges of mercury to the aquatic environment by sectors other than the chlor-alkali electrolysis industry which was agreed at its meeting on 16 December.