Environment Council, 16–17 June (Hansard, 25 June 1998)

§ Baroness Hayman

My right honourable friend the Minister for the Environment and my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions chaired the final Environment Council of the UK's Presidency in Luxembourg on 16–17 June. My right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister also attended the Council.

We are delighted to report an extremely successful Council. All of our objectives were met, with the Council agreeing member states' share of the EU's Kyoto target, reaching four common positions, agreeing five sets of Conclusions and having useful discussions in a number of other areas.

The Council gave highest priority to securing agreement on how the EU would share out the 8 per cent. reduction of greenhouse gases agreed at Kyoto. After protracted and difficult negotiations which involved a continual series of bilaterals lasting throughout the Council, Ministers reached agreement on this, and on Conclusions on the closely related issue of common and co-ordinated policies and measures for implementing these targets. Reaching agreement on climate change was one of the UK Presidency's main environmental objectives and we are delighted that we have achieved our goal. On negotiations with the industry to reduce CO₂ from passenger cars, the Council agreed Conclusions welcoming the European car industry's improved offer, but agreed that more work was needed before agreement could be reached.

The Council agreed common positions on four proposals. We agreed a directive setting legally binding limits for airborne levels of four major pollutants which will greatly increase protection for people particulary sensitive to air pollution. We also took further steps 50WA towards eliminating acid rain by agreeing a directive which will significantly reduce the sulphur content of heavy fuel and gas oil. Council also reached agreement on a directive establishing a system for licensing and inspection of zoos, so securing one of the UK's main objectives for its presidency. We also agreed a revised European Environment Agency regulation.

The Council also reached a very considerable degree of common understanding on the proposal for a Water Framework Directive which should allow a common position to be reached once the European Parliament's opinion is available. This is a major environmental proposal which will establish the general orientation of Community water policy over the next 30 years.

Conclusions were agreed preparing the EU's position for the Fourth Pan-European Conference of Environment Ministers in Denmark later this month, on the Community's Biodiversity Strategy and on the follow-up to the Bergen-Northsea Intermediate Ministerial Meeting on the Integration of Fisheries and Environmental Issues.

We also held the first ministerial discussions on a number of important proposals. The debates on proposals to reduce emissions from Heavy Goods Vehicles (part of the Commission's Auto-Oil Programme) and the revision of a directive on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms will enable the Austrian Presidency to make progress with both of these over the next six months. The Commission will revise its proposal in the light of a very useful debate on eco-labelling. The Council also briefly discussed the Commission's proposal to end the Austria and Luxembourg bans on genetically modified maize, although no decision will be taken on this issue until after the European Parliament has delivered its opinion on 14 July.

The Commission presented its Communication on Environment and Enlargement, which will be discussed further by the Council during the Austrian presidency.

My right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister reported on the Conclusions on the environment agreed by Heads of Government at the European Council in Cardiff on 16 June. These Conclusions establish a new framework for integrating environmental issues into all European policy decisions. Responding to the Spanish Minister's report on the toxic waste spill near Doñana National Park in southern Spain, my right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister, who visited the area on 5 June, proposed that there should be a review of current provisions for responding to disasters of this nature and, if these proved unsatisfactory, that there should be a conference to discuss possible alternatives. The Commission responded positively to this proposal and will report on its findings in the autumn.

At the outset of the presidency, the UK set itself an ambitious environmental agenda, with six areas identified as priorities (climate change, air quality, 51WA biodiversity, enlargement, fisheries and transport). We are delighted to report that, with the conclusion of this Council, we have achieved our objectives in all those areas.