Environment Council (Hansard, 19 October 1989)

§ Mr. Chris Patten

I represented the United Kingdom at this meeting.

The Council gave broad support to a proposal to establish a European Environment Agency, with many member states, including the United Kingdom, offering to host it. Detailed work on technical, administrative and legal aspects of the proposal will now proceed urgently.

Political agreement was reached on a directive concerning the deliberate release to the environment of genetically modified organisms. The directive requires member states to establish systems for the national regulation of such releases where they are for the purposes of research and development and establishes a Community-wide information exchange scheme between national authorities. It also establishes a system for the review and clearance of products containing genetically modified organisms so that conditions can be established for their marketing throughout the Community. The principles embodied in the directive of review and clearance in advance of all releases are broadly compatible with the Department of Environment's consultation paper on future domestic legislation and the conclusions reached by the Royal Commission on environmental pollution in its report on the subject.

I am pleased to say that the United Kingdom received wide support for its call for industrialised nations to become self-sufficient in their waste disposal operations, with the aim of bringing to an end environmentally unjustified transfrontier movement of waste. There was general agreement on the need for Community action on 218W waste, but a number of important issues in the draft framework directive, including scope and treaty base, remain to be resolved.

As a result of joint United Kingdom and Presidency pressure for early discussion of the subject, the Council considered the positive environmental labelling of consumer products. I am pleased to say that the Council agreed conclusions asking the Commission to bring forward proposals for a Community scheme of environmental labelling as quickly as possible.

The Council endorsed the proposal to list the African Elephant on appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and agreed the arrangement for reaching the common positions of member states for the 7th meeting of the conference of the parties to the convention at Lausanne on 9–20 October.

An exchange of views took place on a Commission communication analysing the causes and consequences of tropical deforestation and presenting options for a Community strategy for the conservation of tropical forests. The Council welcomed the communication and agreed conclusions supporting certain forms of Community action in this field and calling for further examination of the communication.

The Council adopted a resolution aimed at preventing natural hazards and reducing dangers from potentially hazardous industrial activities and from transport of dangerous substances. The resolution called on the Commission to undertake studies and initiate measures to improve the prevention of such hazards within the Community.

The United Kingdom warmly supported Germany in strongly pressing the Commission to come forward with long-overdue proposals to curb emissions from diesel heavy goods vehicles.