Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what matters were discussed at the meeting of European Community Environment Ministers at Ashford castle on 20 to 21 April.
§ Mr. TrippierI represented the United Kingdom at this informal conference.
Ministers discussed the implications for the environment of the completion of the internal market and related issues. These included the implications of economic growth, the avoidance of trade barriers, the integration of environmental considerations into other areas of Community policy, and the scope for using economic and fiscal measures as instruments of environmental policy.
Community relations with eastern European countries and with EFTA were also discussed. Ministers considered information from the European Commission about the state of the environment in eastern and central Europe, and identified a number of areas for discussion at a meeting with their counterparts from those countries to be held in Dublin on 16 June.