§ Mr. Harrisasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Council of the Environment Ministers meeting on 19 and 20 March.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI represented the United Kingdom at this meeting.
The Council reached agreement in principle on a resolution concerning the fourth environment action programme. The resolution recalls the principles and objectives of the Community's environment policy as set out in the Single European Act, emphasises the importance of the effective implementation of environmental legislation, and urges the integration of environmental considerations into other areas of 134W Community policy. The resolution will not be formally adopted until parliamentary consideration has been completed.
The Council reached agreement on the Community's approach to negotiating a protocol to control chloroflurocarbons (CFCs) in the context of the Vienna convention for the protection of the ozone layer. This was in the form of guidelines for the Commission to follow, on behalf of the Community, during negotiations. The guidelines envisage a three part protocol: a freeze on CFC production at current levels; to be followed by a specified percentage reduction of production; with a third and essential element of regular scientific, technical and economic reviews.
Useful progress was made on vehicle emissions. A majority of member states reaffirmed their commitment to the proposals known as the Luxembourg package. Although it was not possible to achieve agreement on standards for particulate emissions from diesel engined cars, a compromise solution on gaseous emissions from heavy vehicles, based on proposals developed during the United Kingdom presidency, received support from most member states. The Council also reached a measure of agreement On a proposal for member states to be allowed to prohibit the sale of leaded regular petrol.
The Council reached agreed conclusions on the general approach to the draft directive on large combustion plants. further progress was made on the question of emission standards for new plants. In addition, although some member states maintained their general reserves on the draft directive, all delegations undertook to contribute to an agreement at the May Council.
The Council agreed the directive amending directive 75/716/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels (gas oil). The directive on the control of pollution by asbestos and an amendment to the major accident hazards directive were formally adopted.
The Council conducted a preliminary examination of the proposal for a Council regulation concerning the export from and import into the Community of certain dangerous chemicals, and instructed the Committee of Permanent Representatives to seek agreement on the basis of the principles already adopted by the OECD and incorporated into the draft UNEP guidelines. The Council welcomed the actions of those member states which wished to go beyond these principles and to experiment with other systems, including forms of "Prior Informed Consent" by the importing country, so that the practical value of such approaches could be tested.
Finally, Environment Ministers formally launched European Year of the Environment in Brussels with the unveiling of a sculpture on the theme of technology and the environment.