Environment Council (Hansard, 17 December 1992)

§ Mr. Howard

I chaired the Environment Council which met in Brussels on 15 and 16 December. My hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside represented the United Kingdom. Many of the United Kingdom's presidency objectives were achieved.

The Council agreed a regulation on ozone-depleting substances, accelerating the schedule for phasing out their production and consumption within the Community. Halons are to be phased out by the end of 1993, chlorofluorocarbons and carbon tetracholoride by the end of 1994, with a cut of 85 per cent. by the end of 1993, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane by the end of 1995, with a cut of 50 per cent. by the end of 1993. The Council also looked forward to early proposals from the Commission for ratification by the Community and its member states for the Copenhagen amendment to the Montreal protocol, and for the control of hydrochlorofluorocarbons, HBFCs and methyl bromide.

The Council adopted a common position on a new directive to apply stringent standards on exhaust pollutants and evaporative emission controls from light-duty vehicles. The same technical solutions developed for passenger cars will be applied to all passenger vehicles, vans and light goods vehicles below 3.5 tonnes. The standards will come into force on 1 October 1993 for new types, and 1 October 1994 for all vehicles entering into service.

The Council agreed a resolution setting out its response to the Commission's fifth environmental action programme, "Towards Sustainability". The programme maps out a broad strategy for the Community's environmental policy until the end of the century. The Council noted that the programme constitutes a good basis for the implementation in the Community of "Agenda 21" and that Community environmental policy will be guided by the principle of subsidiarity in the light of decisions reached at the Edinburgh European Council. The Council recognised inter alia the importance of the integration of environmental concerns into other policy areas; the use of new approaches such as economic instruments and voluntary schemes such as eco-labelling and eco-auditing; the need to take account of the costs and benefits of action or lack of action; the need to improve the implementation and enforcement of Community legislation; and the need to keep the implementation of the programme under regular review.

The Council reached agreement on a decision on ratification by the Community and its member states of the United Nations Environment Programme's Basel convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal. The Council will decide on the date of ratification after the adoption of the waste shipments regulation. The date of ratification will, if at all possible, be no later than three months prior to the 506W second meeting of the parties to the convention which is likely to be in February/March 1994, so that the Community and its member states can become full parties to the convention in time for that meeting.

The Council reached political agreement, subject to the opinion of the European Parliament and a general reserve by one member state, on a regulation introducing an eco-management and audit scheme. The aim of the scheme, which is a voluntary one, is to encourage effective environmental management of industrial sites and regular public reporting of environmental impacts. The Government believe that the scheme will provide the incentive for industry to compete in delivering substantial environmental improvement.

The Council held a useful discussion of the progress that has been made on the various elements of the Community's climate change strategy, and on the framework convention on climate change. There was general agreement that the Community and its member states should aim to ratify the convention by the end of 1993 at the very latest. There was also agreement that the council should reach agreement on the proposal for a monitoring mechanism as soon as possible, and that work should continue on the carbon/energy tax proposal. This work will be carried forward under the Danish presidency.

The Council held a useful first discussion on the question of ensuring the effective implementation and enforcement of Community environmental legislation, based on a report from the Commission on the current position in member states. The Commission undertook to produce these reports on a regular basis, and the Council agreed to discuss the subject annually in the future. A number of proposals were made for improving the collaboration between the Commission and the member states on this question, and the Council welcomed in particular the successful establishment of the network of environment enforcement authorities following its first meeting at Chester in November.

The Council considered for the first time the Commission's proposal for a directive on packaging and packaging waste and invited the Committee of Permanent Representatives—COREPER—to continue their work on this issue. The directive is designed to prevent distortions to the single market in this area while ensuring a high level of environmental protection.

The Council noted the good progress which had been made on the Commission's proposal for a revision of controls on the wildlife trade—the CITES regulation—and invited COREPER to take the discussion forward.

The Council noted the decisions of the Edinburgh Council on the locations of various European bodies. They reaffirmed the importance of reaching a speedy decision on the site of the European Environment Agency. Meanwhile, there was general agreement with the Commission's plans for entering preparatory work for the agency.

The Council formally adopted a directive on procedures for harmonizing the programmes for the reduction and eventual elimination of pollution caused by waste from the titanium dioxide industry.

The Commission announced proposals for a formal European launch of the eco-labelling scheme in June.