Environment Council, 4th March (Hansard, 18 March 1996)

The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Earl Ferrers)

My right honourable friends the Secretary of State for the Environment and the Secretary of State for Wales represented the United Kingdom at the Environment Council in Brussels on 4th March.

The Council discussed the Commission's proposed amendment to the leghold traps regulation. In response to representations by the United Kingdom, the Commission was invited to produce a fixed timetable as soon as possible for concluding negotiations it is conducting with the fur-producer countries. The Council also accepted the proposal by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment that the import ban on furs obtained from leghold traps should come into force on 1st January 1997 unless the Community's final attempt at a negotiated agreement with the producer states on the introduction of alternative humane traps succeeds.

Council Conclusions were agreed on the Commission's Communication on the wise use and conservation of wetlands. During an open debate on this, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Wales welcomed the conclusions and advised the Council of the 84WA extensive action taken by the United Kingdom to conserve wetlands which are already well protected by national and European legislation. My right honourable friend also provided the Council with a comprehensive report on the latest state of play in respect of the "Sea Empress" incident, particularly paying tribute to all those who had been involved in the clean up, and expressing the hope that the Commission would respond favourably to his request for financial assistance.

Council Conclusions were agreed on the forthcoming 1996 session of the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development and on the Community Strategy for the protection of the ozone layer. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment supported Common Positions which were agreed on the amendments to the Waste Shipments Regulation and on the Labelling of Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548). The Council also agreed a Community negotiating mandate for a protocol to the Barcelona Convention on the shipment of hazardous waste; and the Community negotiating mandate for an amendment to the Paris Commission to allow the use of hexachloroethane in certain limited circumstances.

The Council discussed the annexes to the proposed Biocides Directive and, for the first time, considered the Commission proposal to control emissions from off-road vehicles and the Commission Communication on CO₂ emissions from cars. These will all be discussed further at the June Environment Council. There were brief presentations from the Commission on the recently published Communication on EC Water Policy and on the review of the Fifth Action programme.

My right honourable friend also attended a joint meeting with Environment Ministers of Central and Eastern Europe as part of the structured dialogue process. This showed continued enthusiasm for the Environment for Europe process and indicated that most of the central and eastern countries were making good progress on the approximation of EC environmental legislation.